Silence is a Scary Sound
by DarkElements10
Summary: -SEQUEL TO NMS, NML--COMPLETE-The Jacksons return after two months in Canada and moves back in with McFly. It's easy to lie to others, but lying to your heart can prove to be a difficult thing. With the two bands living together there is never a dull mome
1. Chapter 1: Best of Both Worlds

**Silence is a Scary Sound**

**Summary:****-Sequel to NMS, NML- The Jacksons return after two months in Canada and moves back in with McFly. ****It's easy to lie to others, but lying to your heart can prove to be a difficult thing. With the two bands living together there is never a dull moment. ****From press junkets, to photo shoots, to paparazzi, to concerts, and tours they live the rock star life. But along with that come secrets, lies, and romance.**

**A/N: I don't own Gen, Genehh does. I do not own Jacqui, lessthanthreedougie does.**

* * *

**Chapter One**

_Best of Both Worlds_

"Guys, get down here!" 17-year-old Tom Fletcher yelled as he stared at the TV in the living room. He grabbed the remote and turned up the volume before settling back in his chair.

"What is it?" 16-year-old Dougie Poynter asked heading into living room, a plate with a sandwich and a pile of chips in one hand and a soda in the other. He sat down on the couch and propped his feet up on the table in front of him. He glanced at the TV and his jaw dropped.

"I hope this is important" 17-year-old Danny Jones muttered as he and 17-year-old Harry Judd sat down on either side of Dougie. "I was _this close_ to finally beating Harry in Halo 2."

"Ha, you wish" Harry snapped, grabbing some chips off of Dougie's plate. He gave Dougie a weird look when he didn't start complaining about stealing his food. Harry whistled and waved his hand in front of his friend's face. "What's with you?"

"Look at the TV" Danny said slowly.

Harry turned his head and his jaw dropped too. Tom was watching the _Ellen DeGeneres_ show, but that's not what had them shocked. Their friends, the Jacksons, were sitting on stage with her, smiling and talking.

"_For everybody who just tuned in, I'm Ella and I'm here with a very special guest, the rising popular family band, the DarkElements" Ellen said with a wide smile. The people in the audience clapped and cheered as the Jacksons waved at the camera._

_15-year-old Riley Jackson had her long black hair tied up in a loose pony-tail. Her lock of red hair fell into her blue eyes. _

_Riley's twin sister, Rhuben Jackson, had on a black hat over her long black hair. Her lock of purple hair was tucked behind her ear and her blue eyes shined with excitement._

_12-year-old twins, Patrick and Noah Jackson had hats backwards on their heads. Their black hair was overgrown and fell into their blue eyes._

_7-year-old Sydney Jackson was bouncing in his seat in excitement. His black hair was overgrown like his brothers' and his blue eyes sparkled. He was smiling so big, his dimples were really deep._

"_You guys have been a band for a while and you've even worked with McFly, but why did you go to Canada?" Ellen asked._

"_We were having a few family problems at the time" Riley replied slowly, in her heavy Australian accent, as if she was choosing her words carefully. "We have a friend that lives in Canada, Gen, and she offered a place for us to stay in her house."_

"_We've never been to Canada before and we thought it was a good way to get more fans" Rhuben added with a small nod._

"_How many hours on average would you say you work on your music?" Ellen asked._

"_Maybe, 14 . . . 20 hours a week?" Sydney asked. "Does that sound right?"_

"_Yeah, around there" Noah replied. "We play four to five hours Monday through Friday, but we don't play on the weekends unless we have to."_

"_We always find time to hang out with friends and family though" Patrick added._

"_So, friends and family comes first for you?" Ellen asked._

"_Yes, of course" Riley replied._

"_If you don't mind me asking, do any of you have boyfriends or girlfriends?" Ellen asked._

"_No, right now we're all currently single" Noah said with a smile. The Jacksons laughed embarrassedly as the audience started screaming. Ellen laughed at the reactions the Jacksons got for their comment._

"_So, we heard that you have a song to perform for us today?" Ellen asked._

"_Yes, it's actually our new single" Riley replied. "We wrote this song ourselves. This CD is very special because this is the first CD where at least one song was written by each of us and sung by only one of us."_

"_What she means is, the first song on the CD was written by Riley" Rhuben explained. "It's called _Hook, Line, and Sinker _and she's actually the main person who sings it. Then, there's my song called _Falling In to Darkness_."_

"_Patrick and I wrote a song called _Jump, Jump_ because we don't really have any other songs that'll get people up on their feet and dancing" Noah replied._

"_Plus, it's a great song for us to run around on stage to" Patrick added with a smile._

"_Then, I wrote this song called _Rain_" Sydney added. "It's kind of like a ballad and I hope everyone likes it."_

"_But, that's not the song you'll be singing today?" Ellen asked._

"_No, we're going to sing another song" Riley replied. "It's called _It's Been a Summer."

"_Alright so why don't you go on over and get ready?" Ellen asked. "Everybody the DarkElements are going to play their new single, _It's Been a Summer._"_

_The people in the audience clapped and cheered as the Jacksons got to their feet and headed over to their instruments that were sitting off to the side._

Tom, Danny, Dougie, and Harry watched the Jacksons play their new song in silence, eyes wide and jaws dropped. 

"I didn't expect that" Dougie said shortly once the topic on the _Ellen DeGeneres_ show switched topics.

"Yeah, neither did I" Harry replied. "Did you know they were going to be on the show, Tom?"

"No, I was flipping through the channels and I saw it" Tom replied.

"Just like the time I was watching _MTV_ and we saw their music video for their song _Lean On Me_" Danny said with a nod.

"They've been working on their music a lot" Dougie said scratching the back of his head. Tom looked at his watch and a smile came to his face.

"They're going to have to take a break soon" he replied.

"Why?" Danny, Dougie, and Harry asked in unison.

"Today's the 4th ofApril right?" Tom asked them. The three of them slowly nodded in reply. "Then they'll be taking a break because the Jacksons come back at the end of this week."

"I completely forgot about that" Danny said getting to his feet, a smile on his face. "I can't wait."

"What about you and Rhuben?" Harry asked. "Won't things be weird with the two of you?"

"Yeah, I guess" Danny replied slowly. "She hasn't called or anything since they left."

"Well for one thing, they had to go back to school" Dougie piped up. "And they had to work on their music. Riley said that it was going to be hard to keep in touch because they were so busy."

"It's been too quiet since they left" Harry added. "The only problem is Jake is going to want us to clean up everything."

"Our house isn't _that_ messy" Dougie said sitting up.

"No, but your room is" Tom replied dryly. "You have so many empty cans and bottles of soda in there we should rename your room as the recycling center."

* * *

"Gen, I honestly don't know how you can get through school everyday with having to wear this uniform" Riley complained, rolling her eyes.

"School policy" 15-year-old Genevieve 'Gen' Charlier replied with a 'You-better-get-used-to-it' sigh.

"School sucks" Rhuben muttered, leaning back against the stairs, reading a wakeboarding magazine.

All three girls were sitting on the front stairs at Oak Bay High School. The three of them were wearing the school's uniform, a white button up shirt, with a black and blue striped tie, a blue pleated skirt, and brown shoes. Being the tomboys Riley and Rhuben are, they opted for black shorts underneath the skirts or wearing black leggings.

"Hey, at least this is the last couple of days we'll be here" Gen offered with a smile.

"That's right" Rhuben said sitting up. "We go back to California soon. Thank god. It's so cold here."

"You'll get used to it eventually" Gen told her, brushing her hair out of her eyes with her shoulder.

"You told us that two months ago" Riley said rolling her eyes. "It's not our fault we're used to the Australian and California warm air."

"Yeah, I don't know how you can stand it" Rhuben added sitting up, setting aside her magazine. Gen shook her head and rolled her eyes.

"You guys complain about everything" she said with a smirk. "Wanna go get a burger or something?"

"Sure" Riley said, getting to her feet. "Let's stop by your house first and see if Pat, Noh, and Syd want to go." She pulled off her socks and shoes and placed them in her backpack and stepped onto her skateboard.

"Right, you complain about the cold weather, but you go around skating bare foot" Gen said putting her hands on her hips.

"That's just the way we roll" Riley and Rhuben sang in unison, high fiving each other. A small smile appeared on Gen's face as the three of them headed down the street towards the Charlier house hold.

"Mom, Dad, Gran, we're home" Gen called as she, Riley, and Rhuben set their backpacks down by the front door.

"Your mom and dad went out to buy some groceries" Patrick replied as he and Noah came out of the kitchen.

"Since Sydney hasn't stopped eating yet" Noah added under his breath.

"And your Gran is upstairs" Sydney added, his mouth full of banana.

"You guys want to go the local café to hang out?" Gen asked running her fingers through Sydney's hair.

"Yeah" Patrick nearly screamed. Noah made a face and shoved his hands into his pockets, nodding.

"Oh, Rhuben, you left this on your dresser" Noah said pulling a necklace out of his pocket. "I was going to give it back to you before you left this morning, but you guys left early."

"Thanks, I thought I lost it" Rhuben said happily, taking the necklace and putting it around her neck.

"We wouldn't want _that_ now would we?" Gen asked with a smirk.

"Not after Danny gave it you" Riley added, her blue eyes flashing in amusement.

"Shut up" Rhuben snapped giving her two friends 'the look.' They quickly shut up but exchanged amused glances with Patrick, Noah, and Sydney.

"Let me go tell Gran where we're going" Gen said, rushing out of the room and up the stairs.

"So, once we go back are you going to forgive Danny?" Riley asked.

"Not sure" Rhuben replied shortly.

"_You're not sure_!" Patrick, Noah, and Sydney yelped in unison. Riley and Rhuben blinked.

"Could you ask that again without the screaming?" she replied dryly. "And _yes_ I'm not sure."

"How could you not be sure?" Sydney asked quietly. "You care about him don't you?"

"Yes, I like him, but-"

"I didn't ask that" Sydney interrupted shaking his head. "I asked if you cared about him." Rhuben stared at him. Sighed heavily, he rolled his eyes. "Do you love him?"

"For all I know he has a girlfriend now that I'm gone" Rhuben muttered after a moment's hesitation. Sydney shook his head in a disappointed parent sort of way. That really bugged her.

"You guys ready to go?" Gen asked, heading back into the room. She looked at her friends. "What's going on?"

"Nothing" Riley replied shortly, a small smile on his face. "So, let's go."

"Right" Gen replied slowly arching an eyebrow as she led the group out the door.

* * *

"Hey, Danny" Tom said looking up from his guitar.

"Yeah, mate?" Danny asked pausing in his guitar playing.

"This question's been bothering me for a while" Tom replied slowly.

"So just ask" Danny replied setting his guitar aside. "You sound like someone died or something."

"The Jacksons are coming back at the end of this week and I was wondering if you were going to prove to Rhuben somehow that you were sorry" Tom replied.

"That's not an easy thing to do" Danny replied shaking his head. "Especially because she's so stubborn. For all I know she got a boyfriend all the way over in Canada."

"She doesn't" Tom replied.

"How do you know?" Danny asked grabbing his guitar and plucked a few strings with his guitar pick.

"I can just tell" Tom replied. "Plus, that interview said that they were single remember?"

"That was taped before it came on here, for all we know, they're going steady with someone" Danny replied.

"All I'm saying is that you seemed happier when you guys were friends" Tom replied. "I just want to see you happy."

"Listen, Mr. One Dimple, you don't know what I'm going through" Danny said glancing up at his friend. "You're crushing on a girl who's always happy and loves the world. It's going to be really hard to prove to Rhuben how sorry I am."

"Hey, don't be insulting my dimple" Tom said with an amused smirk as he pointed at Danny.

"I'll insult whatever I want" Danny said with a small smile as he slapped Tom's hand away.

"You wanna go?" Tom asked with a laugh, pushing Danny. Danny set his guitar aside and stood up, Tom doing the same.

"Bring it on, Dimple Boy" Danny replied, his blue eyes shinning. The two of them fell to the floor, giving each other a headlock as they wrestled.

"Do I even want to know?" Harry asked on his way into the kitchen.

"Not really" Tom choked out.

"I go against winner" Dougie said raising his hand into the air.

* * *

"Blue Flame Café" Sydney said putting his hands on his hips. "You think they could have thought of a better name?"

"Not if it doubles as a teenage night club" Gen replied with a laugh.

"But why the Blue Flame?" Patrick asked tilting his head to the side.

"Because of how hot it gets in there" Gen replied in a monotone. "I learned that the hard way."

"Did you pass out from lack of water?" Noah asked with a soft smile.

"Almost" Gen replied, mussing his hair. "You guys mind if Jacqui comes along?"

"Nope" Rhuben replied stretching her arms above her head. "The more the merrier."

"Can we call her?" Patrick and Noah asked turning to Gen. 

"You can call her next time" Gen said, running her fingers through their hair. 

Semi-sad looks cross their faces but they nodded to show they understood. Gen raised her cell phone to her ear and waited for her friend, Jacqui Guhl, to answer.

"_Hello_?" a voice asked on the other line.

"Jacqui where are you?" Gen demanded. "Get to the local café now!"

"_Gen, I'm watching an Avril concert DVD_" Jacqui complained.

"Jay, get off your butt, set Avril aside, change out of your pajamas, grab your musical filled IPod and get over there. We've got love lives to meddle in."

"_Who's_?" Jacqui asked, suddenly sounding excited.

"Rhuben's" Gen said sticking her tongue out at her friend. Rhuben rolled her eyes and shook her head in reply.

"_I'm on my way_" Jacqui replied before hanging up.

"I hate you" Rhuben said, giving Gen a hard stare. Gen gave her a toothy smile.

"I love you too."


	2. Chapter 2: Reunited

**Chapter Two**

_Reunited_

"So, what's the problem?" Jacqui Guhl, Gen's friend, asked as she chewed on the straw to her chocolate milkshake. Jacqui has almost black hair with natural red highlights and green eyes

"Rhu-Rhu doesn't know if she's going to forgive Danny" Sydney replied, brushing his over grown hair from his eyes.

"You _really_ need a hair cut" Rhuben muttered, glancing at her brothers.

"Don't change the subject" Riley said through a mouthful of hamburger.

"You're getting a kick out of this aren't you?" Rhuben asked in a monotone.

"Yep" Patrick and Noah replied in unison, spraying bits of French Fry onto the table.

"Chew and swallow next time" Gen said shaking her head.

"Yes, _mom_" Riley, Patrick, and Noah muttered in unison. Gen stopped and gave them a look. "Sorry."

"Why would you _not_ forgive him?" Jacqui asked. "It's _Danny Jones_ for god's sake,"

"You guys are such stickybeaks **(1)**" Rhuben said shaking her head.

"What?" Gen and Jacqui asked in unison.

"Nosy" the Jacksons replied in unison.

"I hate it when you go Aussie on us" Jacqui muttered.

"Back to the topic at hand" Gen said putting up her hand.

"I'm _not_ going to forgive him just because he's famous" Rhuben muttered.

"Right, forgive him because you love him" Riley said with a nod. Rhuben stopped in mid chew, a distant look coming onto her face. "Don't tell me you don't love him. I _know_ you do." A grin spread across her face as she punched Rhuben on the shoulder.

"Ow, what was that for?" Rhuben asked, blinking and coming out of her trance.

"Remember you said a while back that if you ever fell in love with Danny then I get to punch you?" Riley asked with a grin.

"That was months ago" Rhuben pointed out.

"More like a story ago" Sydney piped up. Everyone gave him a weird look. "What?" he asked, his blue eyes widening.

"I never said I loved him" Rhuben protested.

"You never specified-"

"_You_ didn't either" Rhuben interrupted. "That punch doesn't count . . . and take your ring off next time."

"Noted" Riley muttered. "I thought I had you, too." Rhuben made a face and stuck her tongue out at Riley. Riley stuck her tongue out in return.

"Fact or Fiction: You wear Danny's necklace all the time?" Jacqui asked.

"No one ever said you could use my game against me" Rhuben muttered.

"Answer the question" Noah said raising his eyebrows. "I want to hear this." Rhuben looked over at Gen and widened her eyes slightly.

"Don't look at me" she said. "I'm not helping you out of this one. But, I'm going to be a friend and try to help you figure out what you should do."

"Fact" Rhuben muttered, setting her jaw.

"Fact or Fiction: Danny has _somehow_ worked his way into your thoughts?" Gen asked.

"Fact" Rhuben muttered.

"Fact or Fiction" Noah piped up. "You were crying over him the first day we got here."

"Noah!" Rhuben cried. She slapped him on the arm when she saw the grin on his face. "I told you not to tell anyone."

"All the signs are there, Rhuben" Gen said shaking her head. "You need to forgive him or you won't be as happy as you used to be."

"Can we switch to another topic?" Patrick asked. "Talking about Rhuben's love life makes me want to dry heave."

"How are your songs coming?" Jacqui asked, immediately jumping to a conversation about music. 

She loved a lot of different styles of music like soul, pop, country, rock, jazz, and show tunes. She loves to listen to songs from _Wicked_, _Les Miserablès_, _The Phantom of the Opera_, and _Spamalot_. Then she also likes bands and singers like Avril Lavigne.

"Now _this_ I can talk about" Sydney said with his dimpled smile.

"This is _so_ unfair" Jacqui said slapping the table with her hand. "You guys get to hang out with McFly _again_! I don't even get to hang out with them _once_! I wish I could go to California with you guys."

"I'm actually happy you aren't" Rhuben muttered. She smirked as Jacqui gave her a shocked look. "This'll be the only time we won't hear you talking at a mile a minute."

* * *

_Four Days Later_

"Where'd Jake go?" Tom asked, looking around the crowded airport.

"He probably went off somewhere to talk on his cell phone to someone" Harry said shoving his hands into his jeans pockets.

"He's been talking on his phone a lot lately" Danny muttered

"And I have a feeling that it doesn't have anything to do with our band" Dougie added looking around. "I hope their plane lands soon, I'm starving."

"You ate two breakfast bagels and two bacon egg and cheese hot pockets already" Tom said giving his friend a weird look.

"I was in a rush to get here" Dougie replied defensively, his eyes widening. "Do you know how many calories I burned by now?"

"Whoever knew you were such a girl" Danny asked in a monotone, rolling his eyes.

"They haven't arrived yet, have they?" Jake asked rushing over to the four teenagers as he pocketed his cell phone.

"They're not here yet" Harry replied. "Who were you talking to on the phone?"

"Um, no one" Jake replied, his eyes shifting back and forth.

"Riiight" Tom, Danny, Dougie, and Harry said in unison, slowly nodding.

"You've been on your phone talking to 'no one' for days now" Tom pointed out. "And whenever one of us enters the room, you lower your voice so we don't hear what you say."

"Spill it, Hardin, what are you keeping a secret?" Dougie asked crossing his arms over his chest.

"A; I'm not going to tell you" Jake replied. "2; you shouldn't talk to your manager like that."

"Alright, whatever you say" Dougie replied rolling his eyes. "Man, would their plane land already?"

"Dougs, you have to be patient about these things" Danny said placing a hand on Dougie's shoulder. Dougie set his jaw and stared off into space for a few moments.

"I'm going to get some food" he announced.

"Wait up" Danny said rushing after his friend.

"You wanna go watch the baggage claim?" Tom asked.

"Oh, yeah" Harry said and the two of them rushed off.

"Kids" Jake commented, shaking his head He jumped as his cell phone rang once again. "Oh, uh hello?"

"_Yes, this is Miles Johnson_" a man on the other end of the line said "_I understand that you said you wanted to become an Adoptive Parent_?"

"Yes, that's right" Jake replied, looking around to make sure he wasn't being eavesdropped by anyone."

"_And would you like this to be an open, semi-open, or a closed adoption?" _Miles asked for the shifting of paper.

"Pardon me?" Jake asked, a look of confusion crossing his face

"_An open adoption is where you, the kids, and their parent set aside how many times they can see each other, if they can call each other on the phone, or if they can write each other letters_" Miles explained. "_A semi-open adoption is when you have a less amount of visitations and a closed adoption is where the kids and the parent don't see each other, don't write each other, and don't call each other at all._"

"I _definitely_ would like a closed adoption" Jake said with a small nod.

"_And you're aware that we'll be sending over some people to make sure that your place is fit enough for kids to live_?" Miles asked.

"Yes, I understand that" Jake replied. "I was going to move into a bigger house soon anyway."

"_Alright, we'll call you as soon as we come up with a date to study your environment_" Miles replied.

"I'll be waiting" Jake replied.

"_If this process goes well, then you'll have full custody of these kids by the middle of September_" Miles said. Jake could sense the smile on the man's face.

"Thank you" Jake said and hung up the phone. He let out a sigh and a smile came to his face. 

"_Now landing, flight__ 201 to Los Angeles, California_."

"Hey guys" Jake said spotting Danny and Dougie walking over to him, finishing a burger from McDonalds. "Have you seen Tom and Harry?"

"Uh, yeah, they're down at the baggage claim" Danny said, pointing in the opposite direction.

"The plane just landed" Jake replied with a sigh.

"I'll go get them" Dougie said stuffing the rest of his hamburger into his mouth.

"No, I'll go" Danny said handing Dougie his box of fries. "I'm faster." With that, Danny turned around and raced off to find his friends.

"Just because he's the most athletic-"Dougie muttered under his breath, along with a stream of curse words. Jake shook his head in amusement and waited for the rest of the band to arrive.

* * *

"That is the _last_ time I'm sitting next to you on a plane" Rhuben snapped at Patrick as she flicked him in the ear.

"Why?" Gen asked carrying Sydney in her arms. "What'd he do?"

"Besides snore in his sleep?" Rhuben asked dryly.

"Hey!" Patrick cried rounding on her. "You _kick_ in your sleep."

"I do _not_ you twerp" Rhuben cried.

"Bigger twerp" Patrick sneered.

"Biggest."

"Bigger-est."

"That's enough" Riley said rolling her eyes as she shifted the straps to her backpack.

"Bigger-est isn't even a word" Noah pointed out.

"Shut up" Patrick snapped.

"Hey, you guys should be happy we're back" Riley said stopping the fight. "California is so much warmer then Canada." Gen rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at Riley who grinned in reply.

"_And_ the most important reason" Sydney said kicking his feet to show that he wanted to be put down. Gen laughed and set him on the ground. "We're back because of our music and Patrick and Noah's song, _Noots_, is going to be a hit. I can feel it."

"Yeah" Patrick and Noah cheered slapping each other a high five.

"And we get to see McFly again" Rhuben added.

"Don't you mean you get to see Da-aa-any again?" Gen asked, stretching his name. Rhuben let out a hollow laugh.

"Are you going to give Tom a kiss once you see him?" she asked in an overjoyed voice.

"Touché" Gen muttered rolling her eyes. "What are you going to do when you see Dougie?" Gen asked turning to Riley.

"Give him a hug?" she said as more of a question. 

"You guys kissed and you're going to give him a hug once you see him?" Sydney asked, shaking his head.

"We're not even an official couple" Riley said rolling her eyes. "He hasn't asked me to be his girlfriend."

"Whatevs" Patrick, Noah, and Sydney said in unison.

"Ok, I honestly think you've been hanging around Jacqui too much" Rhuben said with a laugh as she mussed her brothers' hair.

"That's not a bad thing" Patrick said with a smile.

"Trust me, it could be" Gen muttered.

"Home sweet home" Noah cheered as he, his siblings, and Gen stepped out of the gate and into the airport. 

"I'm hungry" Sydney said, placing his hands on his stomach.

"Let's find the guys first before we decide on where to go for lunch" Riley said as she looked around the airport. She set down her stuff in some chairs and stretched.

"Your cell phone's ringing" Patrick announced, racing over to her bag. He pulled open a zipper and handed Riley her ringing cell phone.

"Thanks" Riley said before flipping the phone open with her thumb. "Hello?"

"_Hey, it's Dougie_" a familiar voice reached Riley's ear.

"Hey, where are you guys?" Riley asked

"_Right behind you. Turn around_" Dougie replied with a little laugh. Riley turned around a smile came to her face. Tom, Danny, Dougie, Harry, and Jake were standing there, big smiles on their faces.

"It's so good to-"Riley stopped and glanced at the phone in her hand. Shaking her head, she hung up and slipped her phone into her pocket as McFly and Jake walked around the seat of seats and to the group of kids. Riley wrapped her arms around Dougie in a big hug. "It's so good to see you. I missed you."

"I missed you too" Dougie replied, hugging her back.

"Hey, you're wearing my beanie" Riley said, smiling up at him. Dougie grinned in return.

"Tom" Sydney shouted, jumping on to a seat and into Tom's arms. Tom laughed and hugged Sydney tightly.

"Hey, Sydney" Tom said setting him down and mussing his hair. "How was Canada?"

"Cold" Sydney said with his dimpled smile. Tom laughed and turned towards Gen, giving her a warm smile.

"It's great to have you back" he said, giving her a hug.

"It's great to be back" Gen replied quietly. "I missed you a lot."

"I missed you too" Tom said and gave her a small kiss on the cheek. Gen blushed and smiled shyly. Sydney sighed and rolled his eyes a smile on his face.

"I hope you guys stayed out of trouble like you promised" Harry said with a laugh as she gave Patrick and Noah a high five.

"Yeah, we did" Patrick replied.

"It was Riley and Rhuben who got into the most trouble" Noah added with a small smile.

"No surprise there" Harry said quietly.

"I heard that" Riley and Rhuben said in unison causing the boys to laugh.

"What'd you guys do while we were gone?" Patrick asked.

"Well, the first two weeks we kept saying, 'I wonder what they're doing right now' every ten minutes" Harry said with a smile. "The second half of the month we were kept asking, 'Jake have you heard from them yet?' every time we saw him."

"That got really annoying" Jake said in a monotone voice.

"Then the last month we were trying everything we could to take our minds off missing you guys" Harry explained.

"We missed you guys too" Patrick said.

"We would have kept in touch more but the schools in Canada give you so much homework and it pretty hard."

"Ah, I gotcha" Harry said with a nod as he watched Danny and Rhuben talk to each other, nervous looks on their faces.

"Um, it's good to see you" Danny said quietly, scratching the back of his head.

"You too" Rhuben replied just as quiet. 

The two of them fell silent, looking around the airport and occasionally glanced at each other. Danny opened his arms a little bit for a hug. Rhuben hesitated, but a small smile came to her face and she stepped into Danny's arms

They stood in each other's arms for a few moments, breathing in deeply, taking in each other's unique smells. Danny smiled as the smell of honey and brown sugar, that was Rhuben Jackson, hit his nose. Rhuben rested her head on Danny's chest and let out a soft sigh as she smelled the rain forest.

Realizing how long the two have been hugging, they blushed and let go of each other, backing up a couple of steps.

"You're, uh, wearing my necklace" Danny said shoving his hands into his pockets. Rhuben lightly touched the necklace around her neck.

"Yeah, er, I haven't taken it off since I found it" she muttered. "Why'd you give it to me?"

"Um, I know how much you liked your other necklace and I saw how upset you were that you didn't have it, so, I decided to give you mine as a going away present" Danny replied.

"Thank you" Rhuben said quietly, shoving her hand into her pocket. "I have something for you." Danny held out his hand and Rhuben placed a silver ring into it. "Kind of a late birthday gift."

"Wow, uh, thanks" Danny said with a smile as he placed it onto his finger. An awkward silence fell upon the two of them. Fortunately, Jake needed to get their attention.

"Well, it's great to have you back" Jake said addressing everyone. 

"We certainly have missed you guys and so has the people here in California. I have scheduled a couple of visits to the local orphanage so you guys can play with the kids and sing them a couple of songs. We'll be starting a tour around September too."

"Isn't your birthday in September?" Tom asked turning to Riley and Rhuben.

"Yeah" Riley replied with a nod. Jake turned to her, a mysterious look in his eyes.

"When in September?" he asked.

"The middle of September; September 16th" Rhuben replied.

"That's perfect" Jake said more to himself then others.

"What's perfect?" Sydney asked, looking up at him.

"Um, nothing" Jake replied a smile on his face. "Well, let's get your bags and head on home."

"Can we get some tucker **(2) **first?" Patrick asked. "I'm starving."

"Yeah, me too" Dougie said, widening his eyes.

"You just ate McDonald's" Danny cried.

"What's your point?" Dougie asked, arching an eyebrow. Danny shook his head in reply.

* * *

**AUSTRALIAN PHRASES/TERMS**

**1 Stickybeak-**_Nosy_

**2. Tucker**-_food_


	3. Chapter 3: Surf, Sand, and Secrets Pt 1

**Chapter Three**

_Surf, Sand, and Secrets Pt. 1_

"Ah, I missed California so much" Noah said as he stretched his arms over his head. He smiled as the sun beat down on him. 

The two bands had already put their stuff in the back of Jake's car and were walking down the street, looking for a place to stop for lunch.

"Do we have anything planned for the rest of the day?" he asked, his blue eyes shining with happiness.

"Just unloading your stuff, why?" Jake asked.

"Can we go to the beach?" Patrick and Noah asked in unison.

"I don't know" Jake replied slowly.

"Please?" Sydney asked, jumping up and down. "I wanna go to the beach."

"I haven't been there in so long" Rhuben said quietly, kicking at a rock.

"That sounds like fun" Gen said brushing her hair behind her ear.

"You've been kind of stressed out lately" Tom said gently. "I think a day at the beach will help."

"Come on, mate, it'll be fun" Dougie added.

"Yeah, you can just relax and read or do whatever you managers do when you relax" Riley said with a small smile. Jake gave her a smirk in return.

"I don't know" Jake said with a sigh. "I have a couple of calls I'm waiting for."

"You always have calls you're waiting for" Danny groaned, rolling his eyes. "What's the secret? Who are you talking to, mate?"

"I can't tell you" Jake replied. "At least not yet." Sydney raced over to Jake, widened his blue eyes and gave him a sad look.

"Please, can we go to the beach?" he asked in a quiet voice, his bottom lip trembling. Jake glanced at the small boy and sighed heavily.

"Fine" he said shaking his head. "I hate it when you do that."

"Yes" Riley and Rhuben cheered, slapping each other a high five.

"I've got skills is all" Sydney said with a smirk, his dimples appearing in his cheeks.

"Yeah, you've got skills" Patrick and Noah replied, rolling their eyes and shaking their heads.

* * *

Patrick gave a small yelp as his feet hit the cold water. It didn't affect any other part of his body, as most of it was covered in a black surf suit. But even so, for a few moments he couldn't feel his feet.

He turned and rushed up to where his siblings and his friends were sitting on beach blankets. Riley was waxing hers and Patrick's surfboards, Rhuben and Noah were looking over their wakeboards, Gen was twirling a set of keys around her finger as she lay back on a beach towel, Tom was rubbing suntan lotion on Sydney's back, Dougie, Harry, and Danny were watching the girls that went by. Jake was sitting on a beach chair, reading a book.

Riley had on a red bathing suit with black shorts over it. She had on a wet suit like Patrick but hers was zipped up to her waist as she continued to wax her surfboard. Rhuben had on a black bathing suit with black and white board shorts on top. 

Patrick and Noah were wearing the same black swim trunks but Patrick's had a yellow sunburst design while Noah's had a silver sun burst design. Sydney had on blue billabong swim trunks that had white flowers on it. He also had a seashell necklace on which went along with his chosen 'Hawaiian' theme.

Jake had on a white t-shirt and plain black swim trunks. Danny and Dougie commented on how plain he looked and how he wouldn't get a girl. Jake calmly replied that he already had a girlfriend so he wasn't trying to impress someone.

As for the McFly boys, Tom, Danny, and Dougie to be precise, they were busy trying to get the girls', namely Riley, Rhuben, and Gen, attention. 

Tom was wearing green swim trunks to 'match Gen's eye color.' At least that's what he said. 

Dougie was wearing red billabong swim trunks because red was Riley's favorite color. 

Danny was wearing purple billabong swim trunks because purple is Rhuben's favorite color. When asked by his friends, he denied the fact and said that only 'real men wore purple.'

Harry was wearing black swim trunks with flames at the bottom. Tom, Danny, and Dougie laughed when he explained to them that the swim trunks showed off how 'smoking hot' he was.

Gen was wearing a green and white tankini. She tried to convince Riley and Rhuben to wear a bakini or tankini, but they strongly opposed.

"The water's kind of cold" Patrick reported.

"It'll heat up the farther we go out" Riley replied, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Now, aren't you happy that you guys came out here?" Tom asked Jake, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I'm not going to dignify that question with a response" Jake replied in a monotone

"That's a yes" Sydney said rolling their eyes.

"Come on, let's go" Riley said getting to her feet. She slipped her arms into her wet suit and zipped up the rest of it. She and Patrick grabbed their boards and strapped their ankle bands around tiher ankles.

"You don't mind watching Sydney until we get back?" Patrick asked Rhuben and Noah. "Then you can go wakeboard."

"Go ahead" Rhuben replied setting her wakeboard aside.

"We're fine" Noah added with a small smile.

"Alright" Riley said as the two of them headed into the ocean.

"Who's up for volleyball?" Tom asked, tossing a volleyball from one hand to the other.

"I'll play" Gen said getting to her feet, tossing the set of keys into her bag.

"Anything to look at Tom's bare chest, right?" Rhuben asked her with a grin. Gen blushed but smiled.

"And here I thought Jacqui was the perverted one" she said, shaking her head.

"Oh, she is" Rhuben replied with a nod. "I'm just taking her place right now."

"Why don't you pay more attention to Danny than _my_ flirting with Tom" Gen said rolling her eyes as she, Tom, Dougie, and Harry headed towards the volleyball net.

"So you admit it" Rhuben called after her. Noah laughed and shook his head. He tightened the drawstring to his black and silver swim trunks.

"You've been spending _way_ too much time with Jacqui" he said in a quiet voice.

"That's a good _and_ a bad thing" Sydney said pushing up a leg of his swim trunks to rub sun tan lotion on his thigh.

"Ha. Ha" Rhuben said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

* * *

"Whoo, look at those sweet waves" Patrick cheered, a smile on his face. His hair whipped across his face as the wind blew.

"Sweetness" Riley said slapping Patrick a high five. With that, the two of them headed into the chilly water.

Once they had jogged to where the water was above their knees, they jumped on their boards. Riley dove right through the middle of a wave, shivering as the cold water rushed over her. It wasn't as bad as it might have been if she had just worn a bathing suit and shorts, but it was enough of a shock to make her more alert.

Surfacing on the other side of the wave, she let out of a loud sigh of relief. Riley loved being in the water, and it brought her peace to be in it's cool depths. Shaking her head slightly, she focused my eyes on the waves that were headed towards us. 

"Riles, you get first ride" Patrick called to her as the two sat down on their boards, one leg on either side. Riley and Patrick stuck their heads in the ocean water and brought it back up, running their fingers through their hair. 

"Alright" Riley replied with a nod, pulling her elastic band out of her hair then retied her hair up into a ponytail. She let two waves run under her before she started paddling towards the shore.

Riley hopped on the board, her feet sticking to it nicely. She put her hands out to steady herself and bent her knees low. She rode up the wave and off of the crest. In the air she turned my board one hundred and eighty degrees and cut back down the wave and towards the curl.

When she reached the curl, she dropped to her board and hugged it tight. The wave rolled her over and over until it dispersed. When the water pulled back to the deep, Riley burst out laughing. This was all good fun for her, a usual entertainment. 

"You go, girl" Patrick cheered punching his fists into the air. "That was tight!"

"That was sweet" Riley said with a genuine smile. "We haven't been out here for months."

"I missed the water" Patrick said as a wave rolled under him, nearly knocking him off his bored. "Riley, can I ask you a question."

"You just did" Riley said with a smirk. "What's on your mind, St. Pat?"

"If Dougie asks you to be his girlfriend, would you accept?" Patrick asked.

"I don't know" Riley replied, giving him an uncertain look.

"Why not?" Patrick asked. "Don't you like him?"

"Yeah" Riley admitted. "But, what would dad do once he found out?"

"I didn't think of that" Patrick replied quietly. 

"The fact of the matter is, I don't know if I should tell him about Ryver" Riley replied looking over at the shore.

"He abused you Riles, you need to break up with him" Patrick said quietly. "I don't know what you saw in him."

"Honestly, I don't know what I saw in him either" Riley said shaking her head. "Enough talk about that. Are we here to surf or what?"

"You know it" Patrick said as he got ready to ride the next wave. "I love you, Riles."

"Love you too" Riley said as the wave rolled under her. Patrick started paddling towards the shore, before the wave took hold of him.

* * *

"Wow, Syd, that's a really big sandcastle" Rhuben commented, sitting down in the sand next to her brother.

"Probably the biggest one I've ever made" Sydney said as he carefully embedded a sea shell into one side of his sand castle.

"I think it's the coolest looking one" Rhuben said as she raised her digital camera to take a picture.

"You don't know how long it took me to sketch this one" Sydney said with a little laugh, handing over a notebook.

"Do you really find entertainment in doing this?" Rhuben asked, taking a picture of the sand castle.

"Yeah" Sydney replied with a shrug. "I'm afraid of the water so, this is one of the things I like doing on the sand. You guys can surf and wakeboard for your entertainment. This is what I do."

"And you're really good at it" Noah commented, in his light sleep.

"What's going on?" Danny asked walking up.

"You're in my light" Rhuben commented, motioning to her camera.

"Sorry" Danny said dropping onto his knees. "This is an amazing sandcastle Sydney."

"Thanks" Sydney replied with a confused look.

"What's wrong?" Rhuben asked him.

"I'm missing some . . ._thing_" he replied, getting to his feet. He walked over to Noah and kicked him in the side.

"Ow, what?" Noah asked rolling onto his stomach and peering up at his brother.

"Help me find this _thing_ I'm looking for" Sydney said through clenched teeth as he nodded his head in Rhuben and Danny's direction. Noah glanced over at them and sat up.

"Right" Noah said scrambling to his feet. "I'm going to help him find his thing."

Rhuben rolled her eyes as she took another picture of the sandcastle Sydney made, before turning to the ocean and zooming out to get a couple of pictures of Riley and Patrick surfing.

"So, you like taking pictures?" Danny asked breaking the silence.

"Well, I'm good at it, if that's what you're really asking" Rhuben replied checking to see how a picture of Patrick surfing came out. "I take pictures for our website."

"I thought Sydney did that" Danny said tilting his head to the side.

"No, I take pictures and he does videos, but he puts them up for me" Rhuben replied with a shrug.

"How many pictures do you have?" Danny asked.

"Hmm, a good two or three 2gig memory cards worth" Rhuben replied biting her lip.

"Can I see?" Danny asked, shifting his weight onto his left arm.

"Sure" Rhuben replied, leaning towards him so he could the screen on her digital camera.

Meanwhile, Tom, Gen, Dougie, and Harry's volleyball game was winding down.

"Look over there" Tom said shielding his eyes from the sun. "Danny and Rhuben are getting a little cozy if you get what I mean."

"It's about time" Dougie said with a smirk. "Do you think they're going to get together?"

"It's a possibility" Harry said. "If he does, he'll stop being mopey. If he's not mopey, then he'll stop eating as much as you, Dougs."

"Ha ha" Dougie said rolling his eyes.

"If not I'm sure I can help speed things along" Gen said with a grin.

"I don't think you need to be meddling in their love lives" Tom said slowly. 

"Why not?" Riley asked walking up to them, her surfboard under her arm.

"It's good fun" Patrick added shaking his head.

"You guys done surfing?" Harry asked.

"Yeah" Patrick replied, breathing heavily.

"You guys are really good" Dougie said giving Riley a warm smile.

"Thanks, we've been surfing since we were little" Patrick said with a modest smile.

"You're _still_ very little" Riley said giving Patrick a shove. 

"You're going to try and get them together aren't you?" Harry asked seeing the look on Gen's face.

"Besides, modeling, acting, and singing, playing matchmaker is one of my best qualities" Gen said with a grin.

"Your most _annoying_ quality you mean" Riley said with a smirk.

"Next I'll be trying to get you and Dougie together" Gen said giving Dougie a push as he and Riley blushed.

"Gen, Riley already has a boyfriend" Patrick pointed out. Riley turned towards him and gave him a withering look. Patrick's eyes widened and he slapped his hand over his mouth. "I am _so_ sorry" he whispered as an awkward silence fell over them. Dougie gave Riley an unrecognizable look. One she didn't want to see again. . . 


	4. Chapter 4: Surf, Sand, and Secrets Pt 2

**A/N:**** For those of you who wanted to know. Jacqui will be appearing in small parts in the story, like if she's on the phone with one of the band members, so she's not considered a main character yet. But, she will be near the end of the story.**

**A/N 2:**** There will be a sequel to this story too.**

* * *

**Chapter Four**

_Surf, Sand, and Secrets Part 2_

Riley grabbed Patrick by the shoulder and pushed him over to Sydney and Noah who was looking through Gen's bag.

"What are you doing?" Riley asked, causing them to jump.

"We're looking for something" Noah replied, scratching the back of his head.

"Like what?" Patrick asked, a confused look crossing his face.

"I don't know" Sydney admitted. "I just said that so Rhuben and Danny could be alone."

"You don't have to play match maker, Gen's going to do that" Riley replied in a monotone. Then she tightened her grip on Patrick's shoulder. "That is, if Dougie ever _talks_ to me again."

"Oh, he didn't" Noah groaned.

"He told Dougie that you and Ryver are dating?" Sydney asked, his eyes widening. "Poor Dougie."

"I'm sorry" Patrick wailed as he pulled himself out of Riley's grip. "It slipped out."

"My fist is going to slip upside your _head_ if you let something else slip" Riley threatened. Patrick bowed his head, wiping at his eyes. Riley let out a sigh and her expression softened. "It's alright, Pat. I would have had to tell eventually."

Riley got down on her knees and opened her arms to give Patrick a hug. He hesitated, but stepped into her arms and wrapped his arms around her neck, hugging her back.

A buzzing sound reached their ears as they looked around. Sydney pulled Riley's Sidekick out of her bag and handed it to her. "Speak of the devil" she muttered, looking over the text message she got.

"What'd he say?" Sydney asked.

"The usual crap" Riley said rolling her eyes. "I don't have to listen to it anymore, cuz he's miles away."

"What are you going to do now?" Noah asked.

"I need to talk to Dougie" Riley said with a sigh. "Then we can continue having some fun."

* * *

"You ok, Doug?" Tom asked Dougie, placing a hand on his shoulder as they watched Riley lead Patrick off.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Dougie asked. "We aren't officially going out or anything,"

"Who's her boyfriend?" Harry asked turning to Gen.

"Ryver Sullivan" Gen said, rolling her eyes and making a face.

"You don't like him?" Tom asked.

"That's like asking if you like a zit the night of a big dance where everyone can see it" Gen said with a scoff.

"Why don't you like him?" Harry asked.

"Riley didn't like him either" Gen said crossing her arms over her chest.

"Why not?" Tom asked, a confused look on his face.

"He was abusive" Gen replied.

"Oh" Tom replied shortly.

"Not the best choice for a boyfriend" Harry muttered, biting his thumbnail.

"She was going to break up with him like a week ago, but he avoided her" Gen explained. "She sent a text to him, telling him that she was breaking up with him, and he went ballistic."

"What'd he do?" Dougie asked, staring at his feet.

"He called my house a plethora of times, screaming and cursing her out" Gen replied. "That's why she's been acting kind of weird lately."

"It's probably because he reminds her of her dad" Harry suggested.

"I didn't even think of that" Gen admitted, her eyebrows knitting together.

"Dougie, can we talk?" Riley asked, giving Gen, Tom, and Harry a fixed stare.

"Let's go make fun of Danny and Rhuben" Harry suggested.

"Wait up" Tom and Gen said in unison rushing after their friend.

"About my boyfriend" Riley replied slowly. "We aren't together anymore. At least I think we're not"

"Gen told me everything" Dougie replied.

"I-she did?" Riley asked. She curled her hands into a fist. "That's the _last_ time I tell her something private."

"If you didn't tell her, she wouldn't have explained to me and I would have felt like crap" Dougie said with a small smile. "Gen's a great friend."

"So, we're cool?" Riley asked.

"No" Dougie replied shortly. Riley gave him a confused look. "Once you break up with him _for good_, then we're cool. I don't want anyone hurting my friend."

"Friend" Riley repeated giving Dougie a hug. "Right."

"Come on guys" Harry said rushing up to the two of them. "Gen's going give us a boat ride."

"She has a boat license?" Dougie asked, arching an eyebrow and turning to Riley.

"Don't look at me" she said putting up her hands. "I didn't even know that."

"Well, let's go" Dougie said.

"Wait!" Riley said. "Jake should come too. He's either been reading or on the phone this whole time." She, Dougie, and Harry headed up the beach and over to Jake.

"What's going on, guys?" Jake asked, looking up from his book. He jumped as his cell phone ring. "Oh, hold on a minute."

"Ah, no" Riley cried, grabbing his cell phone.

"No more phone calls" Harry said with a smirk.

"We came here for fun, so we're going to have some fun" Dougie said, grabbing onto Jake's arm and pulling him to his feet. "So, no distractions; no cell phones, no books, just fun."

"I'm not a big fan of water" Jake said as the three of them started pushing him towards the boat that was in the water.

"Ah, quit being a fun sucker" Riley said as she pushed him into the boat and handed him a life jacket.

"I'm _not_ a fun sucker" Jake said as Rhuben and Noah threw their wakeboards onto the boat before getting on.

"Eh, you kind of are" Tom said slowly.

"Thanks for telling me" Jake muttered as Gen sat down in the driver's seat and stuck the keys in the ignition of the boat.

"Everybody ready?" she asked. She got a chorus of 'yeah's in return. "Alright." She turned on the boat and sped across the ocean. Patrick, Noah, and Sydney laughed as the boat flew out of the water every time they hit a wave.

"This is so much fun" Sydney yelled over the wind.

"Not really" Jake muttered, holding tightly onto the boat, his eyes squeezed shut.

"You need to live a little, Jake" Danny yelled, from beside Rhuben. They exchanged glances and started to laugh.

"It's good to see you're on speaking terms again" Harry said mussing Danny's hair.

* * *

"So, where you taking me?" Riley asked, subconsciously pushing her hair behind her ear. She noticed quickly that her face was exposed and fixed it immediately.

"You'll see!" Dougie chirped, grinning.

Rhuben, Tom, Danny, Harry, and Gen couldn't help but smile either. They finally stopped at an outdoor restaurant and sat for lunch. Jake agreed to take Patrick, Noah, and Sydney to the mall while they went out to lunch. They were going to meet back at the McFly house later to start the process of unpacking.

"Come on, tell me" Riley said turning to her twin. "How do you know but I don't."

"Because they told me?" Rhuben replied as more of a question.

"Trust me, Riles, we're doing this for your own good?" Gen said.

"What is this, an intervention?" Riley asked with a smirk.

"You could say that" Tom said in a monotone as he stopped walking. Dougie and Harry forced Riley to sit down on a bench. Riley gave her friends a confused look. Dougie sighed heavily and started talking.

"Listen Riles-"

He was cut off by Riley's ringing cell phone. Everyone waited for her to see who it was. "Not again" she muttered. Tom's face grew dark.

"Ryver?" he asked in a monotone. Riley gave a short nod in reply.

"I should answer so he'll stop calling" she muttered.

"Riley, don't" Gen warned.

"Hello?" Riley said into her phone.

"_Where the hell are you? I've been fucking calling you all day."_

"I'm out with Dougie, Rhuben, Tom, Danny, and Gen" Riley said quietly. Dougie sighed and looked away. There was silence from Ryver's end.

"_Why the _hell_ are you with them? I thought I told you not to hang with them anymore."_

"You can't tell me who to hang with, Ryver" Riley's head snapped up and he glared at the phone in her hand.

"_I sure as hell can tell you who to hang with. Do you want what happened last time to happen again?"_

"No" Riley whispered in reply. Gen and Rhuben exchanged uneasy glances as they could hear everything Ryver said because he was screaming so loud.

"_RILEY, ditch your friends and get by yourself, we need to talk!"_

Tom let out a heavy sigh and calmly took the phone from Riley's hand.

"No, Tom!" she yelled in protest.

He ignored her and yelled into the phone, "Who the _bloody hell _do you think you are?! If you ever lay a finger on her again, or even speak to her again, I will hunt you down and kill you!"

All eyes were on him now, and Riley nervously looked around at the people walking by, nodding at them apologetically. Tom hung the phone up and put it in his pocket. An awkward silence fell over the group of friends.

"If he ever touches you again, I swear to you I will rip his intestines out with a crowbar and make him eat them" Dougie whispered.

"He didn't mean to, guys, it was an accident!" Riley said as she started to cry.

"Accident my ass" Rhuben snapped. "Open your eyes, Riley. _He's just like dad_ _and you _never_ made excuses for him_."

"Let's go somewhere else." Danny suggested.

"I know just the place" Harry said snapping his fingers. He took Riley's hand leading everyone down the sidewalk. They arrived shortly after wards at an ice cream stand, where Harry ordered everyone something, plopping a cup of chocolate ice cream in Riley's lap..

She smiled.

"You always know" she said quietly.

"Because you're my best friend, Riley. You can't hide anything from me, not even your favorite ice cream" he said with a little laugh. He smiled at her and watched her slowly eat her ice cream. He could see the tears welling up in her eyes.

"Do you want to talk?" Gen asked quietly.

"No. Can we not talk about it for a while?" Riley asked, shaking her head. She took a bite of ice cream and suddenly burst into tears, which caused her four friends to lean over and pat on her on the back or rub her shoulders "I don't know what I did to deserve this!" she wailed.

"Riley, you didn't do anything, you're amazing. You're just not a very good judge of character," Danny said, rubbing her heaving back. "You deserve so much better."

"I thought he loved me," she said, calming down a little.

"If he loved you, he wouldn't hurt you like dad did" Rhuben pointed out. "He said he loved us and where do you think he is now?"

"He told me he loved me, he promised me" Riley whimpered, shaking her head.

Dougie kissed the top of her head and hugged her tighter. "I have a promise for you that we will never break" he said with a small smile. "Because we will never, ever hurt you."

"Thanks, guys" Riley said with a small smile, returning to her normal self.

"Anytime" Tom said, grinning. "Now, about you calling him back and telling him to leave you alone." He pulled Riley's cell phone out of his pocket and turned it off before slipping it back inside.

"After I finish my ice cream" she said with a little laugh.

Riley grabbed Dougie's and Tom's arms. "I want to get it over with. Come with me."

They nodded and walked off with her, handing her cell phone over after keeping it hostage all day. There were 10 missed calls all from Ryver. She pushed his speed dial button and waited for him to answer.

"_Riley?" _he answered, a hint of anger in his voice.

"Yeah, we need to talk."

"_No, you need to come back to Canada so I can knock some sense into your dense skull."_

She winced at that statement, memories flooding into her mind. "No, I don't feel safe with you."

"_What the _hell_ are you talking about?"_

"Have you been drinking?" she asked her voice flat.

"_What's it to you?"_

"I can't see you anymore."

There was silence on Ryver's end._ "You're with Dougie, aren't you?" _he asked, his voice low.

"And all the rest of my real friends," she said, putting emphasis on 'real'. "We're over, Ryver."

"_You can't end it with me" _he said, the venom dripping from the statement.

"I just did" she hung up the phone and looked at Tom and Dougie, who were smiling at her.

"Good job" Dougie said, putting an arm over her shoulder. "How do you feel?"

She looked up at him a smile forming on her face. She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"I feel safe" she whispered in reply.

"And that's all we want" Tom said giving her a hug. "Come on, let's get you guys moved in."

"Mission accomplished?" Gen asked as Dougie, Riley, and Tom made their way back over to her, Danny, and Rhuben.

"Yep" Tom said with a proud smile.

"Great, now I can try and get you two together" Gen said happily clasping her hands together.

"Give it a rest" Danny, Dougie, Riley, and Rhuben snapped in unison and started down the sidewalk.

"Cranky people" Gen observed with a little laugh. Tom laughed and slipped his arm around Gen's waist.

"Don't worry, you'll always be my favorite cupid" he said with a little laugh. Gen blushed and joined in his laughter.


	5. Chapter 5: Dessert Flirt

**Chapter Five**

_Dessert Flirt_

"I'm bored" Sydney whined in his thick Australian accent as he lay sprawled on the couch. It was now 8:30 at night.

The McFly boys, Gen, and the Jacksons spent all day unpacking. The guest rooms in the house were actually clean this time around. Jake helped them unpack and ordered pizza for them. He left shortly after the pizza came, saying he had a lot of work to do.

"So go do something" Rhuben said as she pushed him off the couch and sat down.

"Heyyy" Sydney whined.

"Heyyy, is for horses, but grass is cheaper" Riley said with a smirk.

"You're not funny" Sydney pouted, crossing his arms over his chest. Riley and Rhuben rolled their eyes and shook their heads.

"Don't let them get to you, Syd" Tom said gently.

"Why does everyone take _his_ side?" Patrick piped up rolling his eyes.

"He's adorable that's why" Gen said pinching Sydney's cheek.

"No need to get jealous" Sydney said with a cheeky smile.

Patrick rolled his eyes and groped Noah's face with exaggerated enthusiasm. He laughed as hr ended the movement by pinching both his cheeks.

"Get off" Noah whined, slapping at his brother's wrists.

"You guys want to play a game?" Dougie asked.

"What kind of game?" Sydney asked lying on the floor.

"'In My Pants'" Dougie replied.

"No" Tom, Danny, and Harry protested loudly.

"Aw, come on, it's a really fun game" Dougie nearly whined.

"We don't have to put anything _down_ your pants do we?" Noah asked slowly, arching an eyebrow.

"No, you don't have to" Dougie said with a small laugh.

"Seriously guys, you don't want to play it" Tom warned.

"Let him explain the game at least" Gen said calmly. "Go ahead, Dougs."

"Alright, so basically, what you do is say a movie name then add in my pants at the end" Dougie replied. "And if you get someone to laugh."

"You're right I don't want to play" Riley said with a smirk.

"Anybody want to play Halo?" Harry asked after a moment of silence.

"I'm game" Tom said getting out of the chair he was sitting in. He kneeled down in front of the TV and pulled open the doors to the compartment underneath, pulling out an Xbox. "Someone help me hook this up."

"I'll help" Riley said getting to her feet.

"I'm going to go get my book" Gen announced getting ot her feet.

"Oh, I'm going to get With" Sydney said as he got to his feet.

"With what?" Dougie asked giving Sydney a confused look. Sydney giggled into his palm.

"With is my pet albino bunny" he explained a small smile on his face.

Dougie gave a slow nod before diving off the loveseat couch and onto the floor, grabbing an Xbox controller. Gen laughed as she and Sydney headed up the stairs.

"Ugh, get off my legs" Riley groaned pushing Dougie in the side. He closed his eyes and started laughing.

"He's ticklish" Danny pointed out hugging a pillow to his stomach.

"I would have never known" Rhuben said with a smirk.

"Stop tickling me" Dougie gasped in between laughs.

"Then get off me" Riley said in a fake sweet voice as she continued to roll him off her legs. Letting out a sigh Rhuben got to her feet.

"Where are you going?" Danny asked her, watching her as she headed out of the room.

"To make an ice cream sundae" Rhuben called over her shoulder.

"That sounds good" Danny said getting to his feet. "Anyone else want one?"

Tom, Harry, Dougie, Riley, Patrick, and Noah grunted a response, their eyes fixed on the TV screen as Tom and Harry started a multiplayer Halo game.

"Guess not" Danny said under his breath as he followed Rhuben into the kitchen.

"What kind of ice cream do you have?" Rhuben asked as Danny rushed by her and over to the bowl cabinets.

"Chocolate and Vanilla" Danny replied.

"America's favorite flavors" Rhuben said rolling her eyes as she headed over to the freezer. Wordlessly, she pulled out the vanilla and chocolate ice cream containers.

"It was Harry's turn to pick the ice cream flavors" Danny said with a shrug as he set two bowls on the counter. "We have whipped cream and chocolate syrup too."

"My favorite toppings" Rhuben said with a small laugh as she pulled out the can of Reddi Whip and the bottle of chocolate syrup out of the refrigerator. "Hand me the ice cream scooper."

"Here you go" Danny said after he dished out his helping of chocolate ice cream.

She handed him the aerosol can of whipped cream and then began to scoop out her portion of the vanilla ice cream. A glint in Danny's eye, he turned around so his back was facing Rhuben, tilted his head back, opened his mouth, and shot whipped cream into his mouth.

"Danny" Rhuben nearly shouted, making Danny jump. He slowly turned around, his blue eyes widened in innocence.

"What?" he asked with his mouthful. Puffs of whipped cream gushed out of the corners of his mouth.

"Ugh, you're gross!" Rhuben said making a face.

"No, I'm not" Danny choked out, swallowing his mouthful of whipped cream.

"Give me that can" Rhuben said, tossing the ice cream scooper into the sink.

Danny looked at the can, to Rhuben, then back to the can, a mischievous look sliding onto his face. He the can up to eye level, still looking from it to Rhuben and back.

"Oh, no" Rhuben said shaking her head, slowly backing up. "Don't even think about it."

"You should know by now that I hardly think" Danny said with a small smile, arching an eyebrow.

Rhuben turned and ran out of the room with Danny following and quickly gaining. Unfortunately, couldn't run fast enough for the athletic McFly boy. Danny wrapped an arm around her waist, stopping her from moving nad pulling her back into his chest. His other hands still had the can of whipped cream in it.

"Come on, open your mouth" Danny said with a laugh. "You know you want to."

"No!" Rhuben laughed, shaking her head, back and forth.

"Oh, quit being a baby" Danny said rolling his eyes. "There must have been _one time _in your young life you did this." Rhuben pressed her lips together, shaking her head. "Alright." With that, Danny sprayed whipped cream all over Rhuben's face.

Her mouth hung open in a shocked expression and she stopped moving. Shock and anger passed through Rhuben's body all at the same time. "Let. Me. Go" she whispered in a low voice.

Immediately, Danny let Rhuben go and backed up a few steps. She turned around to face him, wiping the whipped cream from her face. Quickly, she grabbed the aerosol can from his grasp and pointed it at him.

"You wouldn't dare" Danny said quietly.

"Oh, wouldn't I?" Rhuben asked giving a sweet smile.

Danny turned around an darted back into the kitchen, Rhuben chasing after him. He grabbed the chocolate syrup bottle with one hand and opened the refrigerator with the other. He grabbed the second can of whipped cream and used his teeth to bite off the top.

"Don't come any closer! I'm armed" Danny warned, arching his eyebrows.

"That's a risk I'll take" Rhuben replied with a smirk, darting forward. Danny cried out in shock when he was hit with cool cream. He wrapped his arms around Rhuben's waist and pushed her up against a counter before squirting her with chocolate syrup and whipped cream.

"Danny!" she laughed, trying to break away from her friend's grasp.

"What's going on in here?"

Danny and Rhuben looked towards the entrance of the kitchen and laughed nervously, and embarrassedly, when Sydney padded in.

"Uh, nothing" Danny replied, letting Rhuben go.

"Right" Sydney said, rolling his eyes as he walked over to them. Rhuben knelt down to his height and kissed him on the cheek, leaving a smear of chocolate syrup. "Ew, you got me chocolaty."

Wordlessly, Danny sprayed him with his can of whipped cream. "And now you're creamy" he cracked before he burst out laughing. Sydney stomped over to the refrigerator before pulling out a bottle of strawberry syrup.

"Eat strawberries suckers" he said before giving an evil laugh. With that, he popped the top to the container and started squirting his friends with strawberry syrup.

"Duck in cover!" Danny yelled, dropping behind the counter, pulling Rhuben with him.

"Sydney! What are you doing?"

Sydney turned around, and his smile faded once he saw he squirted Patrick and Noah in the face with strawberry syrup. Tom, Harry, Dougie, Riley, and Gen had their shirts stained.

"Rhu-Rhu and Danny got me messy so I was getting them back" Sydney explained, looking all innocent.

"He started it" Rhuben said in a monotone as she popped up from behind the counter.

"Why am I not surprised?" Tom asked in a monotone as Danny got to his feet. Rhuben and Danny looked at the bottles of whipped cream in their hands then back up at their friends.

"Uh oh" Gen muttered, seeing the looks on their friends faces.

"Well, there's only one way to get to the refrigerator" Dougie said with a sigh as he motioned for his semi-clean friends to gather around him. "I'm going to take their attention off of the rest of you guys. Make a fast break to the refrigerator."

"Good luck man" Harry said giving Dougie a hug, pretending to burst out crying.

"We're going to miss you dude" Riley said shaking her head before giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"A moment of silence just in case Douglass Lee Poynter doesn't make it out of here alive" Gen said, holding back a fake sob, as she put her hand over her heart. Dougie let out a breath of air and cracked his knuckles.

"I'm going in."

* * *

"Man, this is going to take _forever_ to clean" Harry muttered, looking around the kitchen.

"I'm going to take a bath" Sydney said as he pulled his bangs off of his forehead. They seemed to be cemented there by chocolate syrup.

"I call next" Patrick and Noah muttered, waddling out of the room. Strawberry syrup trickled down the sides of their heads as if they were bleeding.

"Wait up" Harry said, shuffling after them.

"Well, you've got to admit, this was the best food fight I've ever had" Dougie said as he licked his fingers free of chocolate syrup.

"It was until you started throwing ice cream" Riley said rolling her eyes.

"Dude, those are like freezing cold rocks" Gen said, trying to run a comb through her hair.

"Strategy my friends, strategy" Dougie replied with a grin.

"So was it your strategy to get some down my shirt?" Riley asked, giving him a withering glance.

"_That_ was just perfect aiming and it was all worth it" Dougie replied with a grin. "Especially when your-"

"Shut up" Riley interrupted giving him a glare.

"Rhuben, Danny, you have to clean this up" Tom said getting to his feet.

"That'll take hours" Rhuben cried.

"You started it" Gen replied giving her an 'I-don't-give-a-crap' look as Dougie helped Riley to her feet. Tom gave her a small smile and kissed her on the cheek. When he pulled back, he had chocolate syrup on his lips.

"Mmm, sweet" he commented.

"I know, I love chocolate syrup too" Dougie said as he stuck his finger into a puddle of chocolate syrup and stuck his finger into his mouth.

"I wasn't talking about the chocolate" Tom said with a small smile as he gave Gen a wink. "So, Gen, how would you feel about going out for tea or something tomorrow after rehearsal?"

"Like a date?" Gen asked, blushing a little more. Tom nodded in reply, the dimple in his left cheek showing. "I'd love too."

"Hey look" Riley said pointing at Gen's cheek. "He left lip marks in the syrup."

"I think he's tagged you as his, Gen" Dougie said with a smirk. He and Riley left the kitchen, laughing. Gen laughed lightly and Tom turned to Danny and Rhuben.

"I don't want you out of this room, unless it's for a bathroom break" Tom said in a stern fatherly tone. Gen laughed at his expression.

"Yes, _dad_" Rhuben said rolling her eyes as Tom took Gen's hand and headed out of the kitchen. "This is going to take forever."

"Maybe" Danny said shaking a nearly empty whipped cream can and squirting some into his mouth. Rhuben made a face and shook her head as he swallowed and gave her a smile.

"Don't deny it, Rhuben. You know you love it" Danny said with a laugh.

Rhuben smirked and gave him a 'yeah-right' look. Danny leaned over and pressed his lips to hers in a short sweet kiss. He pulled away and searched her sky blues eyes for a reaction.

"Uh . . . s-sorry" he muttered nervously scratching the back of his head.

"Um, it's ok?" Rhuben said as more of a question. The two of them set to work on cleaning the kitchen in an awkward silence.


	6. Chapter 6: Wake Up Time

**Chapter Six**

_Wake Up Time_

Riley sat up and stretched her arms above her head, letting out a long yawn. She looked around the room she was in and didn't recognize where she was for a minute. Then it all came flooding back to her. She, her siblings, and Gen were all back in LA and living with McFly once again.

Riley made a face and turned to look at Patrick in the bed next to hers and started to laugh. He was sleeping half in his bed and half out of it, nearly falling to the floor. And to top it all off, he was snoring really loud.

Quietly sliding out of bed, she tip toed out of the room and down the stairs. She headed into the kitchen and pulled out a frying pan, deciding on making break fast.

"Wow, Danny and Rhuben did a good job in here."

Riley jumped and turned around to see Tom walking into the kitchen pulling a gray shirt over his head.

"Don't do that" Riley snapped, although a small smile was on her face.

"Sorry, what are you doing?" Tom asked.

"Making breakfast" Riley replied giving him a 'duh' look.

"You mean, brunch" Tom replied. "It's almost 11:15."

"Wow, I've never slept in my entire life" Riley replied shaking her head. A smirk slowly spread across Tom's face. "What?"

"You want to wake everybody up?" he asked. Riley glanced at the frying pan in her hand.

"Hell yeah" she replied with a little laugh. Tom reached into a cupboard underneath the sink and grabbed two lids and slid his hands underneath the handles.

"Let's go" he said hurrying out of the room, a bounce in his step. "Who do you want to wake up first?"

"Patrick" Riley replied as she followed him up the stairs. Quietly the two of them tiptoed towards the guest room Riley and Patrick were sharing.

"What are you doing?"

"Aaaaaah" Riley and Tom whirled around and saw Sydney padding out of Tom's room, rubbing his tired eyes. His jeans were hanging loosely on his hips and the cuffs covered his feet as he walked over to the two of them. He gave them a confused look although his eyes were glinting with laughter.

"What are you doing?" he repeated.

"Waking everybody up" Tom replied casually giving a small shrug.

"I want to help" Sydney said with his dimpled smile.

"Then be quiet" Riley replied as she pushed Tom into the guest room. He quietly walked over to Patrick's side and sat on the floor, holding up the pot tops.

"Go" Sydney whispered.

"Get up, Patrick!" Tom said clanging the two tops together. Patrick jerked in surprise, falling to the floor with a loud thump.

"Well, I'm awake now" he muttered, his face pressed into the carpet. "Man that hurt." He sat up and turned around to face his siblings and friend. "What in the fairy floss is your problem?"

"Wha?" Tom asked making a face.

"Fairy floss means cotton candy" Riley replied. "Patrick always says weird stuff like that."

"Aussies" Tom said shaking his head.

"Let's wake up Noah" Patrick said grabbing his glasses off the dresser that was sitting in between his and Riley's beds.

"Oh, I can do that" Sydney said racing out of the room. He quietly opened the door to the guest room Rhuben and Noah was sharing.

"What about Rhuben?" Tom asked.

"We'll have to get her last, she can sleep through just about anything" Patrick replied. "In the mean time we can think of ideas to get her awake."

"Ssssh" Riley hissed as Sydney crept over to Noah's ear. He opened his mouth and quickly turned his head away, laughing quietly. When his fit of giggles subsided he moved his mouth closer to Noah's ear and let out a shrill scream.

"Ugh" Patrick muttered as he, Riley, and Tom slapped their hands over their ears.

Noah sat up in his bed, a calm look on his face. A pained expression crossed his face as he turned to Sydney. "Good morning to you too" he said sarcastically. "I think a simple shaking would have worked better. You just gave me a massive head ache."

"Sorry" Sydney said in between laughs. He flung himself into Noah's arms, giving him a hug, knocking him over onto the floor.

"You're getting heavy" Noah said in mock complaint as he got to his feet, his brother still in his arms. "Who are we going to wake up next?"

"Harry" Tom replied automatically. Riley, Patrick, Noah, and Sydney gave him identical looks. "When he woke us up after the Spiderman 2 premiere, he woke me up first. Out of the McFly members in this house, I'm getting Harry."

"I've got an idea" Sydney with a bright smile. He licked his lips and gave a shrill whistle. Moments later, Sydney's pet rabbit, With, hopped out of Tom's room. Noah set Sydney on the ground and he rushed over to the small animal, and lifted it into his arms. "Imagine waking up to an animal in your bed."

"Niiice" Tom said mussing the small boy's hair. "Let's go."

Tom took With from Sydney and headed into Harry's room. He nearly lost his balance, dodging the many pairs of drumsticks that were on the floor.

"Man, does he really need all of these?" he asked quietly rolling his eyes.

Holding back a fit of laughter Tom lifted the end of Harry's blankets and gently sent With down near Harry's feet. Riley, Patrick, Noah, and Sydney chocked back their laughter as they saw the lump, which was With, moving underneath the covers. Harry's eyes twitched before they opened.

"What the bloody hell is that?" he asked sitting up and stretching his arms over his head. He jerked as he saw the lump at the end of his bed move. Harry let out a shrill scream and fell out of bed, tangled in his blankets.

"I am _so _sending this to Jacui" Riley said leaning against the door frame to hold herself up from laughing so hard. She had Rhuben's video camera in her hands and was filming Harry waking up.

"Harry!" Tom yelled jumping on top of him. "Wake up, Harry! Wake up! I'ts eleven fifteen in the morning!"

Sydney rushed over to Harry's bed and grabbed With. He threw his head back and laughed wildly. Patrick and Noah fell to the floor. They were laughing so hard. Sydney turned to Riley who was holding the camera and smiled.

"I love you, Jacqui" he said. "I hope you enjoy this video."

"I've got to admit, that was really good" Harry said as Tom helped him to his feet.

"Better than being woken up by that shock game" Tom said with a smile.

"Let's go wake up Dougie" Patrick said wrapping an arm around his stomach. "Aw, my abs hurt from laughing."

"Mine too" Noah said exchanging a smile with his brother.

"I'll wake up Dougie" Riley said handing Noah Rhuben's camera. "Don't break that. You know how her temper is."

"Puh-_lease_, she wouldn't get mad at _me_" Noah said with a cheeky smile. Riley rolled her eyes and made her way into Dougie's room.

"He sleeps sitting up?" Patrick and Sydney asked in unison. Harry and Tom shrugged.

"What are you going to do to wake him?" Harry asked.

"I think I know" Tom said with a small smile.

"Everybody under the age of fifteen, I suggest you close your eyes" Harry said catching on.

Patrick, Noah, and Sydney did so as Riley walked over to the side of Dougie's bed. She leaned forward and gave Dougie a long kiss. Harry and Tom let out a low whistle. Feeling Dougie stir, Riley straightened up then pushed Harry onto Dougie's bed.

"Dude!" Dougie yelled, his eyes growing wide. He wiped his lips on the back of his hand. "You didn't-"

"Of course not!" Harry loudly objected. He turned to Riley and Tom.

"I saw him Dougs, he just planted one right on you" Riley said trying not to laugh. "Right Tom?" She elbowed him in the side.

"Right" Tom squeaked out shaking his head. "He just planted one right on you."

"That's gross, mate" Dougie said getting to his feet and running his fingers through his hair.

"Let's go wake up Gen" Tom said still trying not to laugh.

"Hold on a minute" Dougie said rushing over to one of his dressers. He rummaged through some of them, throwing t-shirts and boxers everywhere. "Aha!"

"Aha, what?" Riley asked. Wordlessly, Dougie showed her the can in his hand. "Shaving cream?"

"Mhm" Dougie replied with a wicked grin as he sprayed some into his hand. "Hand me a tissue."

"Here you go" Patrick siad handing him a tissue.

Dougie let out an evil laugh and headed into Gen's room. He hovered over her and went to transfer the shaving cream from his hand to hers when Gen shot out of her hand, grabbed his wrist, and forced him to slap himself in the face. A look of shock crossed his face as he slowly dropped his hand.

"FYI, I'm a light sleeper" Gen said sitting up in bed, a grin on her face.

"That's my girl" Tom said with a small laugh. Everyone turned to give him an amused look. His face turned bright red and his eyes shifted back and forth as he looked for something to focus his eyes on something. "Uh, I mean, uh."

"That's alright, I got it" Gen said with a small smile as she gave Sydney a hug.

"So, um, let's go wake up Danny" Tom said trying to change the subject.

"Let me do it" Gen said pushing her way past her friends and into Danny's room. She stopped a few paces in and made a face. "Does he always snore this loud?"

"Unfortunatley" Tom, Harry, and Dougie replied in unison. Gen marched over to Danny's bed and pulled his blankets off of his feet. She grabbed onto one of his pinky toes and quickly twisted it.

"OW!" Danny yelled twisting in his bed sheets and sitting up. "Bloody hell."

"Morning, Danny" Gen said with a bright smile.

"Oh yeah" he said rolling his eyes. "It's a _great_ morning when you get your feet twisted."

"Last but not least" Tom said with a sigh.

"Rhuben" Riley, Patrick, Noah, and Sydney sighed in unison.

"There's _no way_ to force her to wake up" Gen muttered. "Trust me, I've tried." Riley showed the way out of the room and back into Rhuben's where the covers were pulled up over her head and she was breathing softly.

"I've got an idea" Danny said stretching his arms over his head. "Let me try something."

"No problem" Dougie said with an amused look on his face. Danny pulled the covers back to the end of Rhuben's bed he gently lifted her into his arms.

"Awww, that's a cute picture" Gen gushed.

"What are you going to do?" Tom asked.

"You're not going to stick her in the shower are you?" Harry asked. Danny looked from his friends to the girl in his arms.

"I can't do it" he said shaking his head.

"_I _can" Dougie said taking Rhuben into his arms. He carried her into the bathroom and set her down in the bath tub.

"You're going to risk her sharp tongue?" Riley asked.

"Yeah" Dougie replied with a shrug. His friends took a giant step back from him as he turned on the cold water and the shower.

"Aaaah!" Rhuben shouted sitting up, getting soaked in seconds. "I HATE YOU DOUGIE!"

"Calm down, it was just a joke" Dougie said, laughing lightly.

"That _wasn't_ funny" Rhuben snapped, shivering as she stepped out of the bath tub. Tom ushered everyone out of the bathroom as Danny handed Rhuben a towel.

"You should watch what you wear to sleep from now on" he commented.

"Why?" Rhuben asked him.

"You realize you were just put in the shower with your clothes on, right?" Danny asked her.

"Yeah, so?" she asked.

"Do you realize you were wearing a white shirt too?" he asked with a smirk, his eyebrows raised. Rhuben looked down and covered her chest with the towel she was holding.

"GET OUT, YOU PERVERT!" Rhuben yelled, pushing Danny out of the bathroom before slamming the door shut behind him.

"It was just an observation" Danny called through the door. He looked at all of his friends and saw that they were staring at him. "What?"

"I got it" Harry said as the telephone rang. He raced out of the hallway and into his room. He came back moments later, his hand over the mouth piece of the phone. "Danny, phone for you."

"Who is it?" Danny asked reached out for the phone.

"It's Mel-"

"I'm not here" Danny replied quickly pulling his arm back. "I'll call back later." Gen and the Jacksons went into their rooms to get changed for the day.

"I'm sorry, he's not here right now" Harry said into the phone giving Danny a look. "He'll call you back later. I'll make sure of it. Bye." Harry sighed and hung up the phone.

"Melanie?" Tom asked.

"Ssssh" Danny hissed, pushing his friends down the hall.

"Yeah, it was Melanie" Harry replied.

"You're going to have to talk to her eventually" Dougie replied. "You've been ignoring her calls for days now."

"You're going to have to tell Rhuben too" Harry added. "You can't keep leading her on."

"I know, I know" Danny said with a heavy sigh. "I'll work it all out, I promise."


	7. Chapter 7: Rehearsal

**Chapter Seven**

_Rehearsal_

"Somebody get the phone!" Dougie yelled from his room.

"_You_ get it!" Riley shouted back.

"I got it, I got it" Harry said rolling his eyes as he headed to the phone. "It _better_ not be Melanie. She's been calling for two days!"

"Danny still won't talk to her?" Sydney called from the living room.

"Nope" Harry replied grabbing the phone. "McFly residence, Harry speaking, Danny's not here right now, but I'll have him-I'm sorry, who's calling? And how may I help you? OK, I'll relay the message. Have a nice day."

"Who was that?" Sydney asked looking up from his computer.

"Your friend Jacqui" Harry replied, "She seemed really nice."

"What'd she want?" Sydney pressed.

"She wants you to set up a video chat" Harry replied.

"Done and done" Sydney said, bringing up a program on his computer. "GUYS, JACQUI WANTS TO TALK USING VIDEO CHAT!"

"Wow, you're so small, but you can get so loud" Harry said, making a face as he slowly lowered his hands from his ears.

Sydney grinned in reply as his siblings and Gen rushed down the stairs and crowded around him and his computer. Sydney pressed the ENTER key on his computer and a window popped up on his computer, a picture of Jacqui filled his screen.

"Hey, Jacqui" the group of them greeted in unison.

"You guys, I was just on the phone with Harry Judd" Jacqui nearly shrieked. "I could just faint right now."

"He's still in the room you know" Riley said with a smirk. She laughed as she watched Jacqui's face turn red from ebarrassment.

"You have a nice voice, but you're prettier in person" Harry said leaning into the view.

"Get out of here, Harry McFit" Gen said with a laugh, pushing Harry away from the computer. "So, what's going on, Jacqui?"

"Everybody here is pretty jealous of you guys" Jacqui replied. "And me for that matter."

"Why?" Patrick and Noah asked in unison.

"Because you guys are living with the McFly boys and you're my friends so-" Jacqui replied rolling her eyes. "Speaking of which, none of you are going after Haz are you?"

"Haz?" Rhuben repeated with an arched eyebrow. Jacqui rolled her eyes once again.

"Duh, he's hazardous to my health" she replied. Patrick, Noah, and Gen snorted. "Oh yeah, thanks for the video when you were waking him up. My abs still hurt because I was laughing so hard."

"To answer your question, none of them are going after Harry" Sydney replied. "Danny and Rhuben are having this whole flirting/hating thing going on. Riley and Dougie are giggly with each other and Gen is going out with Tom after rehersals."

"Ooooooh" Patrick and Noah teased their friend as Riley and Rhuben made kissing noises.

"At least I can admit when I like someone" Gen shot back.

"Ohhh, burned!" Jacui laughed.

"It's burning up in here, even though the bed is cold on your side" the Jacksons started to sing in between laughter. "I'd rather die, then spend this night here without you. Now, its burning up in here, even though the bed is cold on your side. I'd rather die, then spend this night here without you. Without you."

"Aw, I miss you guys" Jacqui said with a laugh.

"We miss you too" Patrick and Noah replied in unison.

"Yeah, we need you to keep the boys in line" Riley said with a smirk towards her brothers. "We'll keep you updated with everything that's going on around here."

"I'm going to call a few times too" Jacqui replied.

"So you can talk to Harry?" Gen asked.

"Hell, yeah" Jacqui replied with a laugh. "We could be phone pals!"

"I think he'd like that" Patrick said with a smirk.

"We need to get going" Sydney said lookin at his wath. "We need to get to rehearsals before we're late."

"And we neeed to help Tom and Gen get ready for their date" Rhuben said with a grin.

"You guys have all the fun" Jacqui said with a pout.

"Don't worry, we'll get you to fly out here soon" Sydney replied.

"I hope so" Jacqui replied. She gave a wave before turning off her computer. Sydney smiled and shut his laptop.

"Come on guys ,we need to get going" Tom siad hurrying down the stairs, carrying his guitar case.

"Coming."

* * *

"Jake, it would have been _so_ much better if you told us that we were going to do a small interview ahead of time" Tom said through clenched teeth.

"I forogot" Jake replied with a sheepish grin. "Have fun though."

A group of inerviewers and camera people started shouting names and telling people to look in their directoins all at once. The two bands gave bright smiles at the cameras they were facing.

"Could I get a picture of Danny, Dougie, Riley, and Rhuben together, please?" someone called out.

"Sure" Danny and Dougie replied in unison wrapping their arms around the twin girls.

"Now, I noticed that you're wearing Danny's necklace, a woman shouted over the noise, quieting every one else. "Any reason behind that?"

"Uh" Danny stammered.

"Any romantical feelings?" she asked with a small smile. "Are there any couples that has formed between the two bands?"

"No, there aren't" Sydney said for the rest of his friends. "We're just all really good friends."

"Will you be appearing to your fans any time soon?" a mal reporter asked.

"We're currently working on our schedule, but we're going to have a beach side concert soon" Tom replied.

"Any new songs in the process?" the reporter asked.

"We've been writing a plethora of new songs" Gen replied with a bright smile. "The DarkElements are going in a 'new direction' with their music that we hope everyone likes."

"That's all the time we have today" Jake said stepping in. "They need to start rehearsal. Thank you for your time."

* * *

"Great job on the violin, Little Man" Riley said running her fingers through Sydney's hair.

"Thanks" he replied, a peaceful look on his face.

"Jake, what'd you think?" Tom asked wiping his clammy hands onto his jeans.

"Good, good" Jake said as he hung up his cell phone. "Jacksons; juding from some of the messages I saw on your website, your fans in central California are liking the songs directed towards the teenaged audience."

"Told you it was a good idea" Patrick and Noah gloated in unison.

"Don't make me hurt you" Rhuben said shooting her brothers a glare. They fell silent automatically.

"Hey, you have to teach me that" Tom said with a little laugh.

"Unfortunately, Rhuben's famous 'death glare' can't be taught to anyone" Gen said with a smile.

"_And_" Jake said getting everyone's attention again. "Your songs where Gen sings with you are getting more and more popular. Especially _View From Heavan_. Do you have any other songs like that?"

"Yeah, there's this one that we wrote when we were in Canada" Sydney piped up.

"Alright, McFly sit out for this one and go over the other songs we'll practice while the DarkElements do this one" Jake replied. Everybody rolled their eyes when they heard Jake's cell phone ring again.

"Who's calling you anyway?" Riley asked in an agitated voice.

"It's . . . no one, wrong number" Jake replied, turning off his phone.

"Whatever you say, Jake" Rhuben replied grabbing her drumsticks and heading over to the drum set that Harry abandoned. "Ready guys?"

"Yeah" Riley and Patrick replied looking over their guitars.

"I'm ready" Noah said as he took Sydney's place at a piano. Sydney gave a thumbs up as he grabbed a cordless microphone and stepped to the front of the room, next to Gen.

"Gen?" he asked her.

"Ready, willing, and able Little Man" Gen replied giving him a smile. She stood behind her microphone, bobbing her head to the beat of the song until she got her cues to sing along with the band.

"Whoo, that was tight" Sydney said with a bright smile, his dimples appearing in his cheeks as soon as they finished singing. "Great job, guys."

"Gen, you're an amazing singer" Tom said giving her a warm smile.

"Why thank you" Gen replied with a small giggle.

"I haven't played the drums for so long" Rhuben said with a sigh. "Oh, how I missed it so."

"Easy there Shakespeare" Riley said with as smirk as Rhuben played a drum fill. Dougie played random notes on his bass guitar, going along to the beat Rhuben was playing on the drums.

"Danny, phone's for you" Jake said interrupting Dougie and Rhuben.

"Who is it?" Danny asked tuning his guitar.

"Melanie" Jake replid. Danny plucked a guitar string so hard it snapped.

"Aw, bollocks" he whispered. "I'll call her back later."

"Who's Melanie?" Gen asked. Danny turned to his band mates and motioned for them not to say anything.

"Melanie is Danny's girlfriend" Patrick replied. An awkward silence fell upon the group. Danny glanced at Rhuben out of the corner of his eye and saw that her blue eyes had a cold look to them and his jaw was set.

"H-how did you know that?" Danny asked quietly.

"I answered the phone when you, Tom, Harry, and Dougie went out grocery shopping" Patrick replied even quieter. "You were out at the time and I told her you'd call her back. I asked her who she was."

'_Danny has a girlfriend_?' Rhuben thought, well aware that all eyes were on her. '_I'm such an idiot. Why would he fall for a girl like me_?' "I'm going on a break" she muttered, slamming her drumsticks down on the snare drum before leaving the room.

Sydney moved to go after her, but Gen grabbed onto his shoulder, silently shaking her head. Danny let out a heavy sigh before setting his guitar aside and rushed out of the room and after Rhuben.

"Uh, go ahead and take a break you guys" Jake said nervously clearing his throat.


	8. Chapter 8: Arguing and a Date

**Chapter Eight**

_Arguing and a Date_

"Rhuben! Rhu, stop!" Danny called rushing down the hall.

"I don't want to talk to you" Rhuben replied, her jaw set, as she continued walking.

"Then, listen" Danny replied grabbing her arm and stopping her from moving. "I was going to tell you. I didn't want to hurt you."

"It's a _little late_ for that now isn't it?" Rhuben snapped, turning to face Danny, her eyes blazing with anger. "You played with my feelings Danny. Again!"

"W-what do you mean?" Danny asked, shoving his hands into his jeans pockets.

"I think I may have actually fallen in love with you, Danny" Rhuben replied, shaking her head. "Then, you go and make me confused about my feelings when you kissed me, and then I find out you have a girlfriend!"

"I didn't want you to find out this way" Danny muttered.

"If you were my friend, than you would have told me in the first place that you had a girlfriend" Rhuben said with a heavy sigh.

"I'm sorry" Danny whispered in reply. He moved to give her a hug, but Rhuben backed up a few steps.

"What's even worse is that I was right" Rhuben went on.

"About what?" Danny asked, finally looking her in the eye.

"I _am_ just one of your statistics" Rhuben hissed. Danny's eyes grew wide and he shook his head.

"No, you're not" he replied. "You're special to me, Rhu, more than the other girls I've ever gone out with." Rhuben rolled her eyes in disbelief. "_Seriously_."

"I heard you Danny" Rhuben said quietly.

"What?" Danny asked, confusion appearing on his face.

"Remember, back a couple of months, when you and everyone else found out about my eating disorder?" Rhuben asked. She winced as she brought up the topic once again.

"Yeah" Danny replied with a nod.

"I heard what you said when you thought I was asleep" Rhuben went on. "You said you thought I was beautiful."

"And I still do" Danny replied quickly.

"Yeah, but now I'm not sure if I should believe you" Rhuben replied as she reached her arms behind her neck. Danny's heart dropped as Rhuben took off his necklace. She took his hand, opened it and dropped the necklace into it.

"I'm sorry" Danny said looking at the necklace in his hands, before crushing it in his fist.

"Yeah, well, like your song, sorry's not good enough" Rhuben said with a final tone to her voice. With that, she turned and continued down the hall. "Tell Jake I'll be back in ten, maybe fifteen, minutes."

"Yeah" Danny muttered, watching her go. With a heavy sigh, he put his necklace into his pocket and headed back into the room.

"Is, um, is everything okay?" Tom asked exchanging glances with his friend. Wordlessly, Danny shook his head and grabbed his guitar looking over the snapped string.

* * *

"Ready to go?" Tom asked Gen as he handed Harry his guitar case. The two bands finished their rehearsal a few minutes ago and was getting ready to go home.

"Mhm" she replied giving him a small smile.

"Have a great time" Patrick and Noah siad in unison, waving, Tom and Gen went off in a different direction than everyone else. Gen smiled and waved back at them.

"So, what do you want to do?" she asked as she shoved her hands into her coat pocket.

"I was thinking we could go to the local café for a snack or something" Tom replied. "Than we can figure out what else to do."

"Sounds good to me" Gen replied, brushing her hair behind her ear.

"Alright, then follow me" Tom said as he quickened his pace. Gen rushed after him,

The two of them walked down the street in silence. Some of the passerbys gave them knowing smiles; as if they knew that they were going to have a good time on their date.

"After you" Tom said as he opened the door to a small café.

"Why, thank you" Gen said with a small giggle as she headed inside. Tom let out a cleansing breath and followed her inside.

"Let's sit over there" Tom said pointing to the corner of the café.

"Alright" Gen replied with a nod. Tom placed his hand on the small of her back and led her over to a small table. "This is a cute place."

"I'm glad you like it" Tom said with a small smile as he pulled out her chair. Gen gave him a smile and sat down. Tom then took the seat across from her.

"This probably isn't the best date conversation, but what do you think happened with Danny and Rhuben?" Gen asked slowly.

"Nothing good" Tom said with a sigh as he ran his fingers through his hair. "I knew that something bad was going to happen, but I didn't know when it was going to happen."

"Yeah, Iget what you mean" Gen replied with a sigh. "Danny's the only person who can break her down if you know what I mean. He can actually make her cry and then be the same person to comfort her."

"Yeah, I get it" Tom replied as a waitress walked over to their table.

"Would you like to order?" she asked, her pen hovering over her notepad.

"Um, two hot chocolates and a cinnamon bun" Tom replied. "Is that alright with you?"

"It's perfect" Gen replied with a grin. The waitress nodded and went to fill out their order.

"Excuse me."

Tom and Gen saw a small boy walking up to their table, looking at his feet in nervousness. He had a pen in one hand and a notebook in another.

"You're Tom Fletcher from McFly right?" he asked.

"That's right" Tom said turning in his seet to face the boy. "How may I help you?"

"Could I have your autograph?" the boy asked, looking up at Tom and holding out his notebook and pen.

"Do you mind?" Tom asked, giving Gen a small smile.

"Go ahead, I don't mind" Gen replied waving her hand.

"What's your name, little guy?" Tom asked taking the notebook and pen.

"Elijah" the boy replied, bouncing on his toes, a smile on his face.

"Here, you go, Elijah" Tom said as he scribbled his name.

"Thank you" Elijah said as he took his notebook and pen back. He turned to Gen an expectant smile on his face. "You're Gen Charlier, right? The model?"

"You're a model?" Tom asked, his eyes widening slightly.

"I forgot to mention that, didn't I" Gen said with a small laugh as she lifted Elijah into her lap. "Yes, that's me. What do you want my autograph too, sweetie?"

"Yes, ma'am" Elijah replied with a little giggle.

"You're a cute one" Gen said as she wrote down her name in his notebook. "Don't go bragging about you getting our autographs, ok?"

"Alright" Elijah replied as he climbed off of her laugh. "Thank you. Bye."

"Bye" Tom and Gen replied in nuison.

"So, about this modeling thing" Tom said with a smirk as their waitress set their orders down on the table.

"Yes, I'm a model" Gen said with a small eye roll. "I haven't done a modeling job for a little while, but I do give the Jacksons tips about their pictures for photoshoots."

"_That_ explains it" Tom replied reaching for his cup of hot chocolate.

"Explains what?" Gen asked.

"Your good looks" Tom replid with a small smile. Gen bowed her head in embarrassment nad blushed.

* * *

"Where are you taking me?" Tom asked with a little laugh as Gen pulled him down the street.

"You'll see" Gen replied in a sing song voice.

"Is it something I'm going to hate?" Tom asked.

"You'll see" Gen repeated. "Close your eyes."

Gen made sure Tom's eyes were closed before pulling him into a skating rink. "Ok, now its cold. Where are we?" Tom asked with a slight whine as Gen pulled ihm over to a bench.

"Sit here and don't open your eyes until I get back" Gen said in a mock stern voice.

She headed over to the line at the skate rental counter and waited for her turn to rent skates. Once she got them, she dropped them onto the ground in front of Tom's feet.

"OK, open your eyes."

Tom opened his eyes and held back a groan. Gen could tell something was wrong from the look on his face.

"Come on, skating isn't _that_ bad" Gen said as she sat down and pushed her feet into her skates.

"I'll take your word for it" Tom said with a sigh as he put on his skates. Gen offered her hand, which Tom took, and the two of them wobbled over to the ice.

Gen stepped onto the ice and pushed off with ease. Tom held onto the railing in a death grip as he watched Gen go around once then come back. She had a teasing look on her face.

"The whole point of skating is to actually skate you know" she said as she stopped next to him.

"I know, um, I'm good at skating" Tom replied. "I just don't feel like it."

"Well if you are so confident about that, than come out here and show me how it's done" Gen replied with a little laugh. Tom let out a small sigh. "Tom?"

"I…I don't know how to skate" he replied, his face turning red.

"Well, I'm going to have to teach you" Gen said with a smile.

"What?" Tom asked in surprise.

"Come on" Gen said holding out her hand.

With a gentle tug she pulled Tom away from the side and out onto the slipper glass. He kept a tight grip on her hand so he wouldn't fall.

"First thing first; you need to get used to your being on skates."

Gen began to skate backwards, pulling Tom with her, their skates gliding smoothly over the ice.

"Now start to move your feet, almost as if you were walking."

Tom stared at his feet as he slowly pushed them forward. His grip on Gen's hands tightened as she turned a corner.

"You ok?" Gen asked in concern.

"I don't want to fall" Tom replied, looking up at him.

"I'll catch you, if you do" Gen replied.

Silently, the two of them continued to skate around the rink, getting a few stares from people. Gradually, Tom's jerky movements because more graceful.

"Hey, I think I'm getting the hang of it" Tom said happily.

"Great, let's test you out" Gen replied.

"Huh?" Tom asked, a look of confusion crossing his face. Gen let go of his hands and backed up a few paces.

"Skate to me" she instructed.

"Are you crazy?!" Tom asked, his eyes widening.

"What's wrong Thomas?" Gen asked, widening hereyes in innocence. "You're not scared are you?".

"What was that?"

"Thomas is a chicken, Thomas is a chicken!" Gen sang, putting her hands on her hips. "I won't stop until you skate to me."

Without realizing what he was doing, Thomas slowly skated towards her, an annoyed look on his face. He was going to make her pay for calling him a chicken, one way or another.. He was close enough to gently brush his fingers along her face.

"You need to get closer than that" Gen said crossing her arms over her chest.

Tom reached Gen with a final glide and wrapped his arms around her waist. Gen let out a small laugh. "Do you realize that you have just skated all the way over here?" she asked, her eyes shining.

"I did?" Tom asked, blinking in surprise.. He looked around and saw that he was indeed in a new spot, a good few feet from where she started. "Hey I did do it!" He saw the look on Gen's face and raised his eyebrows. "What?"

"I bet you can't catch me!" Gen said to him. She turned sharply and skated away.

"Oh is that a challenge?" he asked as he bolted down the ice after her.

The two of them raced along the ice, weaving in and out of groups of people. Soon, Gen felt strong arms wrap around her waist as the two of them slowly glided to a stop. Laughing breathlessly she raised her head and smiled at the happy look on Tom's face.

"I got you now" he whispered in her ear.

"Oh, and what are you going to do with your prize now?" Gen asked with a smirk as she turned aorund in his arms.

Tom smiled back and tilted his head to kiss her lightly on the lips. She blushed at this but the smile on her face never faltered. He pulled back, his eyes shinning in hapiness.

"Genevieve Charlier, would you do the honor of being my girlfriend?" he asked, resting his forehead against hers.

"Of course" Gen replied with a smile, giving him a quick kiss.


	9. Chapter 9: Unwanted Visitor

**Chapter Nine**

_Unwanted Visitor_

"I hope Rhu-Rhu's ok" Sydney said for the umpteenth time since he, his siblings, and his friends got back to the McFly house.

"She just needs some time alone" Noah replied like he did efffvery other time.

Patrick grunted, like every other time, as he flipped through the channels on the TV.

Two hours earlier, the group of friends walked home in an awkward silence, not sure what to say. As soon as they got back, Rhuben rushed up to the guest room she was staying in and slammed her bedroom door shut. Danny also retired to his room, telling everybody not to bother him. Everyone else went off to do whatever they wanted.

"Change it to Disney Channel" Sydney said as he laid down on the couch. "Maybe a movie's on." Patrick let out another grunt, his eyes transfixed on the TV as he changed the channel.

"High School Musical 2" Noah groaned rolling his eyes. "What part is it at?"

"Where Gabriella and Troy break up" Patrick replied in a monotone. Then he said with over the top enthusiasm, "Lucky us, we caught the middle of the song."

Patrick, Noah, and Sydney heard a door open and heavy footsteps above their heads but didn't think anything of it until they heard Rhuben yell down the stairs, "_Turn that off_!"

Patrick jumped and changed the channel to Nickelodeon. He blinked a few times then said in a whisper, "I think she's taking it hard." Noah and Sydney slowly turned to look at him. He felt pairs of eyes on him and looked at his brothers. "What?"

"Ya think?" the two of them asked in unison, rolling their eyes.

"Well, the plus side to Rhuben's being depressed is she can write really good new songs" Patrick said giving a sheepish grin. Noah and Sydney clicked their tongues and hit him with some of the couch pillows. "Stop."

He grabbed onto Sydney and rolled off the couch and started to wrestle with him on the floor. Sydney laughed as Patrick tickled him in the sides.

"Noah, help me" he gasped in between giggles. Noah gave a small smile and slid off the couch and on top of his brothers, joining in their wresltling match.

"No hair pulling" Harry said as he entered the living room.

"Or biting" Riley added, heading into the room after him.

"Or kicking in the private parts" Dougie concluded, flicking his head to the side, to brush his hair away from his eyes.

"Any way, the _real_ reason we're down here" Harry said with a small laugh. "Are Gen and Tom home?"

"No they're-"

Patrick stopped in mid-wrestle, and mid-sentence, when he heard laughter outside the front door. "Yeah, they're home."

"Let's go embarrass them" Riley said heading towards the front door.

"I'm game" Dougie said following her to the door.

"Payback time" Harry said laughing evily, leaving the Jackson brothers, wrestling on the floor.

The three of them crept towards the door and pulled the curtains aside, peering out at the young new couple. They laughed lightly to themselves at how giggly Gen and Tom were acting.

"That's so sweet" Riley said with a fake cheery smile. "It makes me _sick_ sometimes."

"Interesting" Harry replied giving her a smirk. "That's the way you and Dougie act around each other when you're flirting."

"Sod off" Dougie snapped.

"Yeah, rack off, Judd" Riley said shooting Harry a dirty look. Harry rolled his eyes and shook his head. The three of them went back to watching Tom and Gen.

"When are we going to interrupt them?" Dougie asked, wiggling in excitement.

"Right . . . now" Riley whispered as she watched Tom lean forward and give Gen a kiss.

"Ow, owwwww" Dougie cried with a smile as Riley pulled open the front door. Tom and Gen blushed and backed away from each other, exchanging an embarrassed smile.

"Smile for the camera, you guys are so cute" Harry said positioning his fingers into a square. "Thank you for bringing her home on time, young man."

"So, are you guys official?" Riley asked, putting an arm acroos Tom and Gen's shoulders as she pushed them into the house.

"Yeah, we are" Tom replied.

"Finally" Harry and Dougie said rolling their eyes.

"How's Rhuben doing?" Gen asked ignoring the boys' comment.

"Just listen" Dougie said in a monotone, jerking his thumb towards the stairs.

"_Danny, open the door_! _You've been in there for twenty freaking minutes_!" they heard Rhuben shout as a pounding sound was heard.

"I see" Tom replied after a moment of silence.

"Do you want me to talk to her?" Gen asked. "Maybe she'll come around."

"Don't hold your breath" Riley said with a snort. Gen shot her a warning look and headed up the stairs.

Gen saw the hallway at the top of the stairs empty and headed into the guest room Rhuben was sharing with Noah. Gen paused in toe doorway and saw Rhuben sitting on her bed. She had Sydney's laptop open in front of her and many books and papers around her.

"Knock, knock" Gen said as she knocked on the open door.

"Enter, enter" Rhuben said with a smirk.

"Really, funny" Gen said rolling her eyes as she stepped into the room. "What are you doing?"

"Writing new songs for our new album" Rhuben muttered.

"Have you guys decided what its going to be about yet?" Gen asked sitting down at the end of her bed.

"We have a few ideas" Rhuben replied brushing her hair out of her eyes. "We're definatley going to used the song Lose It, though."

"Listen, I want to talk to you" Gen said getting to the point of her entering the room.

"About me and Danny right?" Rhuben asked. Gen gave a small sheepish grin in reply. "There's nothing to talk about. He has a girlfriend and I don't care."

"Yes, you do" Gen replied. Rhuben looked up at her and gave her a questioning look. "A, you gave him his necklace back. B, whenever you get hurt by a guy you write music."

"That's not true" Rhuben denied.

"I have examples if you don't believe me" Gen said with a smirk.

"Whatever" Rhuben mumbled, rolling her eyes.

"Are you going to be ok?" Gen asked.

"As long as I don't have to see Danny's face ever again, I think I will be" Rhuben replied, a serious look on her face. "So, how was the date?"

"Awesome" Gen replied with a smile. "I want to tell you all about it."

"Get Riley up here, she'll want to here it too" Rhuben replied. "I'm going to get Jacui on a video chat so you can tell all of us at the same time. Hold on."

"When you love someone and they break your heart, don't give up on love, have faith restart, just hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on" Gen sang.

"Very funny" Rhuben said throwing a pillow at her.

* * *

"Ok, so we already have two CDs out" Riley said as she, her siblings, and Gen sat in a circle on the floor in the living room. "Our first CD, _Meant to Live_, and our second _The DarkElements_. Both of them had millions of copies sold! But, the second one had more of our songs downloaded off of the internet because we weren't big in America yet."

"So, what'd you call this meeting for?" Patrick asked.

"For our next CD" Riley replied. "Rhu, you said you had a good idea for it?"

"I was thikning of going in a new direction to our songs" Rhuben replied slowly, sitting across from Riley. "Our songs are all around music that people like. I think we should go towards the young adult audience and sing about darker themes."

"Like abuse and neglect and stuff?" Gen asked.

"Exactly, only its more about our lives, ya know? Kind of like a biography CD" Rhuben replied. "I was thinking of naming it Bruised and Broken. All of the songs on our CD will fall in a certain order, and the music videos, once we make them, will be like along story."

"I like it" Sydney said, his laptop on his lap.

"Me too" Noah replied with a nod. "Will the songs be ballads, or upbeat or something?"

"I think it should be a mixture" Gen suggested. "Like, Lose It, is about breaking up with a boyfriend/girlfriend and forgetting about them and everything, and that's upbeat."

"Do you want me to email Jake and ask him what he thinks?" Sydney asked.

"Invite him over for dinner while you're at it" Tom said heading into the room. "He's been all business-y for the past couple of days and he we haven't had any rehearsals scheduled or anything."

"Alright" Sydney replied, opening his computer. "I'll post this on our website too to see what people think about the idea."

"I've noticed that Jake has been on his phone a lot lately" Riley said turning to Tom. "Any idea why?"

"Not a clue" Tom replied with a shrug. "This statrted about two and a half weeks after you left. He's been kind of twitchy too."

"You mean like Patrick whenever you prod him in the side?" Rhuben asked with a grin as she poked Patrick. He jumped and slapped his handaway. Rhuben laughed and tackled him to the ground, tickling his hsides.

"Noooo" he said in between laughs. "Stop it."

"You've got to surrender first" Rhuben replied.

"Never" Patrick said pushing her off of him. "Noah, Syd help me."

"Hey, three against one isn't fair" Rhuben laughed as her brothers piled on top of her.

"Girls against guys" Riley annoucned as she joined her siblings.

"I'll pass" Tom said with a laugh before he headed up the stairs and into his room. Gen laughed and joined her friends in their wrestling match. "Try not to kill each other that much."

"You'll never defeat me" Sydney said jumping onto a couch and pounded his chest with his fists. "I'm too small for you to catch."

"Ah, but I know your weakness" Gen replied with a grin.

"You wouldn't" Sydney replied, narrowing his eyes.

Wordlessly, Gen grabbed his foot, knocking him over onto the couch. She started tickling his foot. Sydney squirmed in her grasp shriekeing with laughter.

"Say uncle and I'll let you go" Gen said, tickling his foot harder.

"Never" Sydney gasped in between fits of giggles. The doorbell rang twice and Rhuben got to her feet.

"I'll get it" she called as she jogged over to the front door. She threw the door open and came face to face with a blonde with green eyes. "May I help you?"

"Hi, my name is Melanie Porter" the blonde replied giving a toothy smile, showing off her straight white teeth. "I'm looking for Danny?"


	10. Chapter 10: Dinner Guest Pt 1

**Chapter Ten**

_Dinner Guest Pt. 1_

Rhuben stared at Melanie Powell as if she was trying to look into her soul. She looked her up and down and a smirk slid onto her face and her eyes seemed to turn a darker shade of blue.

"Hello?" Melanie said waving her hand in front of Rhuben's face.

"I'm sorry, what'd you say?" Rhuben asked blinking out of her trance.

"I'm looking for Danny, is he here?" Melanie repeated.

"You know, there are _many_ Danny's in this world and I'm sure you go the wrong house, good night" Rhuben replied as she went to close the door.

"Mel, is that you?" Danny asked, heading down the stairs.

"Damn" Rhuben whispered under her breath as Melanie pushed open the door and wrapped her arms around Danny in a hug.

"Rhu-Rhu, who's at the door?" Sydney asked as he, his siblings, and Gen headed into the foyer as Rhuben closed the door.

"The spawn of satan" she replied, running her fingers through her hair. Riley and Gen snorted and tried to hide the smiles on their faces.

"Melanie this is Riley and Rhuben Jackson, their brothers Patrick, Noah, and Sydney Jackson, and their friend Gen Charlier" Danny said motioning to his friends. "Also known as the DarkElements. Guys this is Melanie Porter, my girlfriend. Tom, Dougie, and Harry are somewhere in this house."

"Nice to meet you" Patrick and Noah muttered under their breath.

"What are you doing here, anyway?" Danny asked turning to Melanie.

"You've haven't been returning my phone calls so I decided to stop by" Melanie replied with a smile.

"Well, I'm going to start dinner" Riley said clasping her hands together. "It was nice meeting you Melanie."

"Danny called you the DarkElements" Melanie said turning to the group. "Are you a band or something?"

"Well, _that's_ a major put down" Patrick said rolling his eyes as he and Noah went back into the living room.

"Um, yeah, they are" Danny replied scratching the back of his head. "Remember, I told you that there was this band that we were working and living with. Well, that's them."

"I've noticed you have an accent too" Melanie went on. "Are you English?"

"We're Australian you di-"

Gen cut Sydney off by slapping a hand over his mouth. Rhuben held back a laugh; it was obvious that Sydney didn't like Melanie either. Or maybe it's the fact that he doesn't like how Danny hurt Rhuben, either way he wasn't going to be nice to her.

"We're going to help Riley make dinner" Gen said with a smile as she started to push Sydney into the kitchen. "Aren't we Syd?"

"What is for dinner?" Sydney asked.

"I have no idea" Gen replied.

"Well, it was nice meeting you Bethany" Rhuben said, her smirk getting bigger as she headed past Danny and up the stairs.

"It's Melanie" Melanie corrected.

"Whatever" Rhuben replied as she rolled her eyes. She paused at the top of the stairs and listened to Danny and Melanie's conversation.

"Well, I should get going, I just wanted to stop by and see if you were all right" Melanie said with a small sigh.

'_Good, you can leave now_' Rhuben thought setting her jaw.

"Uh, wait" Danny said as she turned towards the door. "Do you want to stay for dinner?"

"I couldn't impose" Melanie replied.

"Then leave" Rhuben whispered.

"You won't be" Danny replied. "We're inviting our manager over too. It'll be lke a party."

"Well" Melanie replied slowly. "I guess it'll be ok."

"Let me take your coat then" Danny replied with a smile.

"Oh, puh-_lease_" Rhuben said slapping her forehead and getting to her feet. She headed down the hall and into Dougie's room. He was sitting up in bed, looking at a skateboard magazine. "Hey, Dougs."

"What's up?" Dougie asked setting his magazine aside. "When's dinner?"

"Is the only thing you think about food?" Rhuben asked with an amused smile.

"Mmmm, no" Dougie replied in mock thought. "I think about your sister too."

"Ha, funny" Rhuben replied dropping down onto the edge of his bed. "We're having another guest over for dinner besides Jake."

"Yeah, who was at the door anyway?" Dougie asked.

"Melanie Porter" Rhuben replied dryly.

"Danny's girlfriend?" Dougie asked, arching an eyebrow. "So how did the two of you hit it off?"

"First off, she didn't even know that me and my siblings are a band" Rhuben replied rolling her eyes.

"Ouch" Dougie replied with a small smile.

"It's not funny" Rhuben said going to slap him upside the head. Dougie gave a small laugh and ducked so he wouldn't get hit.

"I'm not laughing" he replied. His smile faded as he gave Rhuben a hard stare. "Are you going to be ok? You know, since Melanie's here?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Rhuben asked in reply.

"I was just wondering" Dougie replied quickly.

"Right" Rhuben replied with a nod. "Well, I'm going to go and tell Tom and Harry that we're having another dinner guest."

"This should be _really_ interesting" Dougie said under his breath as Rhuben left the room.

* * *

"What's for dinner?" Dougie asked heading into the kitchen.

"That depends" Riley replied, truning around to face him. She was washing the dirty dishes that was sitting in the sink.

"On what?" Dougie asked in reply.

"Are you going to help eat it or help make it?" Riley shot back with a smirk.

"It depends on what it is" Dougie replied with a sly smile as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Well, in _that_ case, I won't tell you what it is" Riley replied as she pulled out of his grasp. "But, you can lick the spoon once I'm done making a cake."

"What kind of cake?" Dougie asked, boucning with excitement.

"You won't know unless you get out of here" Riley replied as she grabbed a bag of flower and opened it. "I don't like people in the kitchen unless they're helping me."

"Not even me?" Dougie asked giving her a puppy dog pout.

"Only Sydney can make that work" Riley replied with a small laugh. She bent over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I promise, I'll give you the biggest piece."

"I've already got the best girl, it won't matter to me" Dougie replied grabbing an apple from the fruit basket and taking a large bite. "Oh yeah, we have an interview on Popworld tomorrow. A couple of weeks after that, they're going to be a special interview about us."

"Oh, you mean like the one where you got smacked in the head with that giant bouncy ball?" Riley asked with a smirk.

"Ecavtly" Dougie replied with a wink.

"Go in the living room with everyone else" Riley said rolling her eyes, a small smile on her face. "They're playing some kind of game or something."

"Melanie and Rhuben both in one room and they both like Danny" Dougie said with a thoughtful look on his face. "I'll call you if there's a cat fight."

"Although we both know that Rhuben would win" Riley replied with a grin.

"You think?" Dougie asked. There was a moment of silence and the two of them exchanged amused looks.

"Definitely."

* * *

**A/N: Ok, so you guys know. We won't be updating after Sunday. We're going to Chicago for our Spring Break and we won't be back until Thrusday. So after Sunday, don't expect any updates until then.**


	11. Chapter 11: Dinner Guest Pt 2

**Chapter Eleven**

_Dinner Guest Pt. 2_

Tom, Harry, Dougie, Gen, Riley, and Rhuben watched in awe at how much Melanie could talk without stopping. Patrick, Noah, and Sydney stared at her, forks halfway to their mouths, spaghetti half _out_ of their mouths. Ever since Jake arrived at the household and introduced himself, she wanted to know every single detail about McFly. It never surpassed the Jacksons that she never asked about the DarkElements.

"You guys have a lot of videos on Youtube and it looks like you have a lot of fun together" Melanie went on as she constantly twirled her spaghetti around her fork.

"Oh, we do" Tom said as Gen elbowed him in the side. He blinked and sat up in his chair.

"Yeah, loads and lods of good fun" Dougie added with a fake smile. He leaned over towards Riley's ear.

"So, Melanie, what do you like to do for fun?" Jake asked politely, wiping sauce from his chin.

"Well, I like to go to the beach, hang out with friends, listen to music, and hang out with Danny" Melanie replied with a little giggle as she lightly touched Danny's arm. He gave her a small smile.

"Oh, please" Rhuben whispered, rolling her eyes.

"I invited her along to the Popworld Interview tomorrow, I hope you guys don't mind" Danny said turning to Tom.

"Not a problem, mate" Tom replied with a wave of his hand.

"Is there any more spaghetti left?" Sydney asked, dragging his finger through the left over sauce on his plate.

"I think you got most of it on your face" Melanie replied with a small laugh. Sydney eyed her warily.

"It's not funny" he muttered grabbing the napkin Jake held out for him and wiped his face.

"There's more spaghetti but not a lot of sauce left" Riley replied before turning to Dougie and raising an eyebrow. "I would have more but _someone_ kept eating it when I wasn't paying attention."

"What, I was hungry" Dougie replied, widening his eyes.

"When are you not?" Harry asked with a smirk.

"I think you've had enough Sydney" Noah said to his brother. "You've already eaten one and a half plates."

"Yeah, and I'm not cleaning up the sauce stains once you puke" Patrick added with a small smile.

"Alright" Sydney replied, pushing his plate away from him. "I'll wait until dessert then."

"If you don't mind my asking, how did you and Danny meet?" Gen asked Melanie as she put her napkin and fork on her empty plate.

"We ran into each other acutally" Danny replied. "Literally. I was late to rehearsal and the guys left without me so I had to run there to get there on time. Well, I was running down Main Street, rounded the corner and crashed right into her."

"We hit it off and he asked me out that same day" Melanie replied. "We've been dating for two months now."

"Funny, that's the longest I've ever heard you sticking with a girl, Danny" Rhuben said giving him a glowering look.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were jealous!" Danny shot back.

"You can snog her all you want, I really don't care" Rhuben siad waving her hand.

"So, why are you guys living with them again?" Melanie asked, breaking the awkward silence.

"We're the band the DarkElements and we signed this contract saying that we work with them" Patrick replied.

"Concerts, interviews, stuff like that" Noah added. "We're trying to make it here in America seeing as we're already famous in Australia."

"Is there any way we can go back, Jake?" Sydney asked turning to his manager. "Julius wants to know too. It's not the same talking to him on video chat."

"I'll look into it" Jake replied. He jumpe as his cell phone rang. "Oh, I've got to take this."

"When do you not?" Dougie asked with a smirk before letting out a loud burp.

"Is it hard to be in a family band?" Melanie asked. "I mean, if you get into arguments does it throw off how well you perform?"

"No, actually" Riley replied. "That's an interesting question. Um, since we're a fanily we do have our fair share of arguments. Sometimes it'll get so bad that we won't want to talk to each other, but the music reunites us if you get what I mean."

"That's really interesting" Melanie replied. "What kind of music do you play?"

"Pop, rock, ballad, alternative, we do a lot" Noah replied.

"We got a lot of inspiration from McFly and Busted" Patrick added. "Withought them, we wouldn't have started our band."

"I'm sorry about that comment earlier; about not knowing about your band" Melanie said with a sheepish grin.

"It's not a problem" Noah replied waving his hand.

"Sorry about that, it was an important call" Jake said as he took his seat at the table.

"It's always important" Sydnye pointed out. "You're always on the phone nowadays."

"That was your brother" Jake replied.

"Why didn't you let us talk to him?" Noah asked. "He hardly ever calls ever since he went off to college."

"I'm sorry guys but this one call was strictly business" Jake replied. He smiled at the Jacksons. "But, I promise you, you'll love it once you find out what it is. It's also a part of your birthday present."

"Oh, I still need to get you a gift" Dougie said biting his thumbnail.

"Don't think _too_ hard about it" Riley said with a small laugh as she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek,

"I do too" Danny said looking at Rhuben. "Is there anything specific you want?"

"I know I don't wany anything from you" Rhuben snapped leaning back in her chair.

"Look, I know that you and Danny had some rough spots in the past, but you have to let it go eventually" Melanie said quietly.

"Oh, he told you that, did he?" Rhuben asked through clenched teeth, her eyes flashing. "Did he also mention that he's known to jump from girl to girl?"

"Yes; I am aware of that" Melanie replied cooly. "But, I trust Danny."

"Funny, that's what _I_ used to do" Rhuben muttered under her breath.

"So, who wants cake?" Riley asked, jumping to her feet.

"I'll help" Gen said getting to her feet.

"Melanie's really nice" Riley said under her breath.

"Yeah, I know" Gen replied as she grabbed a knife out of the cutlery drawer. "She seemes perfect for Danny but I can't help but think she's _too_ perfect for him, if you get what I mean."

"I hear ya" Riley replied. "She seems to be trying too hard to get on Rhuben's good side." Gen snorted.

"Like _that'll_ ever happen" she said with a small smile. "Still, Rhuben's taking this whole girlfriend pretty hard. She's trying not to show it though."

"You know Rhuben, not one to show her emotions" Riley said with a smirk.

"I know, but I can't help but think that Danny is dangling her in Rhuben's face on purpose" Gen said as she started to cut the cake. "Jake has noticed they're acting weird around each other and he doesn't want that to interfere with the music process."

"It's going to interfere with a lot of stuff" Riley replied with a heavy sigh. "Hopefully not anything between you and Tom."

"Or you and Dougie" Gen replied with a small smile. "When are you guys going to go out again?"

"I don't know" Riley replied. "Dougie is shy and that's one of the things I like about him, but, I don't know, sometimes I think he's _too_ shy if you get what I mean."

"Yeah, I've noticed that" Gen replied. "It'll get better though. You've picked a great guy."

"And so have you" Riley replied with a grin. "Only, my guy is the human garbage disposal."

"Hey, everybody has their faults" Gen said with a reasoning smile.

"And _my_ fault was for ever thinking that I might've _had_ something with Danny" Rhuben said through clenched teeth as she entered the kitchen, slamming her empty cup down on the table.

"I'm sorry, Rhu" Gen said with a a sympathetic smile.

"Thanks" Rhuben muttered.

"So, I was right" Riley said, balling her hand into a fist. "You _do_ love, Danny."

"No, I _don't_" Rhuben snapped. "I hate his guitar playing guts!"

"Just help me serve everybody" Riley said putting down her hand, a glum look on her face. "Man, I really wanted to punch you."

"Oh yeah, Danny and Melanie want to share a piece of cake" Rhuben added.

"Noted" Riley replied with a nod.

"So there'll be at least one piece of cake left unless your boyfriend eats it" Rhuben added with a smirk.

"Don't make me smash this into your face" Riley warned, eyeing the plate in her hand.

-

"Riley, this cake was amazing" Dougie said as he swallowed his last mouthful of cake.

"Thank you" Riley replied with a grin as she licked some icing off of her finger.

"It's so much better than Tom's cooking" Harry said with a smirk.

"Hey, I can cook well" Tom said with an insulted look. "If, I don't get side tracked."

"Which happens all the time" Danny said with a small laugh as he cut his piece of cake with his fork. He turned to Melanie and fed her the piece of cake.

"Rhuben are you ok?" Jake asked, "You've been picking at your piece of cake for a while."

"Yeah, I'm fine" Rhuben replied staring at her plate. "I've been thikning of a new song."

"Oh, Melanie, I've got something for you" Danny said digging his hand into his pants pocket. "Close your eyes."

Everyone watched as Melanie sat up in her chair, eyes closed, a small smile on her face. Tom's eyes widened when he saw the necklace that Danny was putting around Melanie's neck.

"Oh, no he didn't" Noah whispered getting to his feet. Patrick grabbed onto his shoulder and slowly pushed him back down into his seat, shaking his head.

"Don't do anything rash" he whispered.

"I'm not going to sit here and let him-" Noah trailed off, seeing the look on Patrick's face. "Fine."

He looked across the table at Rhuben and noticed that Rhuben's eyes were narrowed into a glare once she noticed the necklace Danny was putting around Melanie's neck.

"It's your necklace, thakn you" Melanie said once she opened her eyes.

She gave Danny a kiss on the cheek and wrapped her arms around him in a hug. Rhuben pushed her chair back from the table and stormed out of the dining room and out the front door.


	12. Chapter 12: Don't Stop Me Now

**Chapter Twelve**

_Don't Stop Me Now_

Rhuben sighed heavily as she sat down on the porch swing. She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and pressed number six on her speed dial, deciding to call Jacqui for some advice. (Riley was number two, Patrick and Noah had three, Sydney was four, and Gen was five.)

"_Hello_?"

"Hey, Jacqui it's me" Rhuben said into her phone. She set her phone to speaker phone and set it down on the arm rest of the porch swing.

"_What's up_?"

"I need to talk to you about something" Rhuben replied in a monotone. There was a shuffling sound on the other end before Jacqui replied.

"_What'd Danny do this time_?"

"How'd you know it had anything to do with him?" Rhuben asked with a small laugh. Jacqui let out a loud laugh in reply.

"_When does it _not_ have to do with Danny recently_?" Jacqui asked in reply, "_So, what he do_?"

"Well, let's start with this" Rhuben replied rolling her eyes. "I might have started to get feelings towards Danny, then I found out he had a girlfriend, then he rubs that fact in my face by giving her the same necklace that he gave me, _which_ I gave back once I found out that he had a girlfriend to begin with."

"_Wow_. _Are you sure that he was rubbing it in_?"

"I'm positive" Rhuben replied with a sigh. "Melanie, his girlfriend, is really nice though. I think they're just too . . . perfect for each other."

"_So, you're jealous_?" Jacqui asked.

"No, I'm not" Rhuben replied. "As long as he's happy and like I said she's really nice. She's going to be hanging around for a while, obviously."

"_Cuz obviously, she's out of my league, I'm wasting my time cuz she'll never be mine and I know I, never will be good enough for her, no, no, I never will be good enough for her_" Jacqui sang into the phone.

"You're not funny" Rhuben said rolling her eyes.

"_Go and eat some chocolate or something, its comfort food and I'm not physically there to comfort you. Just listening to this is making me depressed so I'm going to get a bowl of Ben and Jerry's chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. Keep talking, I'm listening_" Jacqui replied.

"Hm, well Riley did make this really good cake, but I haven't eaten my piece yet" Rhuben replied sitting up in her seat. "I've been talking to Dougie recently and he's a pretty good listener. I don't know what I'm going to do about Danny though. Seeing him with Melanie makes me, I don't know I can't explaing the feeling, but I _know_ that its not jealousy."

"_Sure it's not_" Jacqui replied. Rhuben could tell she was rolling her eyes. "_Let me play a song that I'm sure fits the way you're feeling right now_." Rhuben jumped when Avril Lavigne's "Girlfriend" started blasting through the room.

"Ha, ha, ha" Rhuben said grabbing her phone. "Just for that, I'm hanging up on you!" Rhuben smirked and ended her call with Jacqui. She looked up as the front door opened and Melanie stepped out.

"Oh, um, hey" Melanie said once she spotted Rhuben. "I was just leaving."

"It was nice to meet you" Rhuben said with a slight nod. "I hope our crazyness didn't turn you away."

"I have five siblings, all brothers, I can handle it" Melanie replied with a small laugh. She shifted uncoomfortably from foot to foot. "It was nice meeting you too. Well, bye."

Rhuben watched Melanie headed down the sidewalk and round a corner. Seconds later, the door opened again and Noah stepped out onto the porch, a plate of cake in his hand. He closed the door behind him and joined Rhuben on the porch swing.

"How are you feeling?" he asked quietly, kicking his feet back and forth.

"I've been better" Rhuben replied with a shrug.

"We've been talking to Danny" he went on. "The necklace he gave Melanie wasn't the same one he gave you."

"That's not why I'm pissed off" Rhuben replied shortly.

"Than what is it?" Noah asked, widening his eyes.

"It's-I don't really want to talk about it" Rhuben replied pulling Noah closer to her. "I'll tell you later, ok?"

"Alright" Noah replied with a shrug as he handed Rhuben a fork. "I want the hunk of chocolate."

"No way, its my piece of cake!" Rhuben laughed pushing his arm out of the way to stab the hunk of chocolate in the cake. Noah gave his soft laugh and cut a separate piece of cake.

Wordlessly, the two of them continued to eat the cake that Riley made. They silently watched the sun set, casting its warm glow over them and the rest of the houses on the street.

"Rhu-Rhu" Noah said quietly, setting the now empty plate and two forks aside.

"Yeah?" Rhuben asked giving Noah a small smile.

"I love you" Noah replied giving her a hug.

"Love you too, Squirt" Rhuben replied mussing his hair. "I think I hear Patrick calling your name. Go see what he wants."

"Ok" Noah said grabbing the plate and heading inside the house. She heard Noah talking to someone and say, "She's out on the porch swing." Rhuben's eyebrows rose when she saw Danny step out onto the porch.

"Can we talk?" he asked quietly.

"Sure" Rhuben replied with a shrug. Danny crossed the porch and sat down on the railing. "What do you want to talk about?"

"I hate your hating me" Danny replied. "It took a while, but we've become best buds, at least when we were talking to each other."

"Noted" Rhuben replied turning to look at him.

"Are you mad at me because Melanie's my girlfriend and I didn't tell you?" Danny asked. "Do you not like Melanie?"

"No, she's actually really nice" Rhuben replied gently pushing the swing back and forth with her feet. "I can tell that you make her happy and vice versa. I was mad at first that you didn't tell me that Melanie was your girlfriend, but I'm not mad anymore."

"Then what-"

"I just don't understand why you didn't tell me about her at all" Rhuben replied.

"I guess, I thougt that you weren't going to talk to me" Danny replied. "I mean, you kind of left before we could make things right between us again."

"Yesh, you've got a point" Rhuben replied with a srug.

"So, why are you still mad at me?" Danny asked tilting his head to the side, widening his blue eyes.

"I' mad because . . . never mind it doesn't matter anymore" Rhuben replied shaking her head.

"Are you sure?" Danny asked. "Because I want to be friends again."

"Yeah" Rhuben replied shortly. "I'm sure."

"So, are we cool?" Danny asked, a hopeful look on his face. Rhuben looked at her watch before looking over at him.

"No" she replied.

"Then, what do I have to do to-"

"Just sit right there" Rhuben interrupted, looking at her watch again.

"Just sit here?" Danny asked.

"Just sit there" Rhuben repeated with a nod. Danny arched an eyebrow as Rhuben looked at her watch again. She suddenly reached out and pushed him in the chest. Danny let ou ta cry of shock as he fell backwards off of the railing. He landed on his side on the lawn just as the sprinklers came on. Rhuben grinned as she leaned against the railing that Danny was just sitting on. "_Now_, we're cool."

"You're going to pay for that one" Danny said with a grin, shaking the water from his hair.

"When do I not?" Rhuben asked with a smirk running out onto the front lawn, getting soaked in seconds. She did a double backflip, a bright smile on her face. Danny walked up to her and wrapped her arms around her in a big hug.

"I missed you so much" he muttered to her.

"I missed you, too" Rhuben replied, relaxing in his embrace.

"Aw, that's really sweet" Sydney giggled. Rhuben turned towards the house and saw all of her friends and family standing on the porch. Sydney had her digital camera in his hands.

"You better erase that" Rhuben said letting go of Danny and giving Sydney a smirk.

"No, I don't think so" Sydney replied setting the camera aside.

"Alright then" Rhuben replied, grabbing Sydney and pulling him out into the sprinklers. He shrieked in delight as Rhuben set him down on the ground.

"Come on, guys" Sydney said as he raced over to Tom and Gen, grabbed their hands and pulled them out into the sprinklers.

"It's a lot of fun" Danny added, grabbing Riley's arm. Riley grabbed onto Dougie and the three of them joined their friends out on the front lawn.

"Oh, why not?" Harry asked, grabbing onto Patrick and Noah and carrying them out to join their friends. Jake watched them from the potch, a smile on his face. The two bands then started an unorganized game of tag.

"Kids" he said shaking his head in a good natured way.

"Come play with us, Jake" Sydney called as he dodged Tom who tried to tag him. He gave a shriekd of laughter when Dougie grabbed on to him, tickling his sides.

"You guys are going to get sick" Jake called back.

"It'll be worth it" Dougie replied. "This is the most fun we've ever had since we started working together." He laughed as Noah jumped onto Patrick's back, nearly knocking him over. Patrickgrabbed onto his brother's legs and started to spin in a circle.

"Come on you guys, you have an interview tomorrow, I don't want to cancel it" Jake said with a small laugh.

"Don't stop us from having fun, dude" Rhuben said brushing her wet, stringy hair away from her face.

"Well, I have some news for you guys" Jake called, getting everyone's attention.

"What is it?" Sydney asked turning to face Jake, ringing out his shirt.

"Are you sure you want to know, because I don't want to 'stop you having fun'" Jake replied with a teasing smile.

"Come on, tells us" Gen said as Tom wrapped his arms around her waist. She smiled at him and kissed him on his dimple.

"Guess who's going on CD: USA for the first time?" Jake replied.

"Jessica Simpson?" Patrick asked, scratching his head.

"No, you dummy, _us_" Noah said shoving his brother.

"That's awesome" Gen said with a bright smile.

"It should be, it's a special episode" Jake replied sitting down on the proch steps.

"How so?" Tom asked.

"Well, McFly will be performing, the DarkElements will be performing, and so will Busted" Jake replied. "So, the three bands who have been influences to each other will be on. Plus, the boys of Busted wants to work more with you guys."

"They want to work with us?" Rhuben repeated, motioning to her friends and siblings. Simutaneously, the Jacksons did bacflips across the front lawn in excitement.

"So, did you work everything out with Rhuben?" Tom asked as Gen raced over to the Jacksons, who were now wrestling with each other.

"Yeah, we're friends again" Danny replied with a smile. "And I couldn't be happier."

"Good, I don't think I can stand your guys' arguing anymore" Dougie said rolling his eyes.

"I couldn't stand it either" Danny replied. "Plus side, she likes Melanie."

"When are you going to get it through your thick head, that Rhuben is in love with you?" Harry asked, rubbing his temples.

"Guys, we're just friends" Danny replied putting up his hands.

"But, you don't want that, do you?" Dougie asked. "I can tell by the way you look at her."

"Coming from the guy who's never had a girlfriend" Danny shot back.

"Details" Dougie replied waving his hand in the air, a smirk on his face.

"Oh, yeah, Jake, I forgot to tell you something" Tom said winking at his friends.

"What is it?" Jake asked, looking up at Tom. Wordlessly, Tom, Danny, Dougie, and Harry grabbed onto Jake and threw him out onto the front lawn where he got soaked in seconds.

"You need more fun in your life" Tom said crossing his arms over his chest.

Jake gave Tom a small glare, spitting out a mouthful of water.


	13. Chapter 13: See You Again

**Chapter Thirteen**

_See You Again_

"Wake up, wake up, wake up!"

"Not again" groaned pulling their blankets up over their head.

"It's seven in the morning" Patrick said burying his head under his pillow.. "He's insane."

"Wake up, wake up, wake up!"

"Is he going to wake us up every morning like that?" Rhuben asked sitting up in bed.

"I don't know" Noah muttered sitting up also. Rhuben laughed at how his hair was poking out in different directions.

"You better get dressed before Sydney goes crazy" Gen said from in the doorway. She has a white beret on her head and her hair in pig tails. She was wearing a light purple vest over a white tank top. She has a short white and black striped skirt over dark blue jeans and gold ballet flats.

"I think he already has" Rhuben said with a smirk as she pulled herself out of bed.

"What's going on?"Noah asked.

"We're going to be on Popworld and CD:USA today" Danny said leaning in the doorway, buttoning up his shirt. He stopped and looked Rhuben up and down and grinned. "You need to wear that around the house more often."

"Get out, Rat man" Rhuben said tucking her lock of purple hair behind her ear. She strode over to the door, a small smile on her face. She pushed Danny down the hall and down the stairs.

"You did that thing with your hair again" Gen pointed out as Noah got out of bed and walked over to his dresser.

"What hair thing?" Rhuben asked.

"Don't act like you don't know" Noah said with a small smile.

"I swear I don't know what you're talking about" Rhuben replied heading over to her closet to find something to wear. Gen let out a laugh.

"You always mess with your purple strand of hair whenever you talk to a guy you like" she explained.

"No, I don't" Rhuben replied rolling her eyes as she pulled a button up shirt out of her closet. "Does this tie go with this shirt or this shirt?"

"You love Danny, you love Danny" Noah sang as he skipped over to Rhuben's side.

"Sing that again and I'll disown you as a brother" Rhuben said with a smirk. Noah stuck his tongue out at her in reply.

"You won't disown me, you love me so much" he said with a cheeky smile.

"You've got a point" Rhuben said pulling Noah to her and kissing ihm on the cheek. She playfully pushed him away from her. "Now, go get dressed."

"Yes ma'am" Noah said as he rushed over ot his side of the room, grabbed his clothes and headed out of the room.

"Do you really like Melanie?" Gen asked, sitting down on Rhuben's messed up bed.

"Yeah, she's nice" Rhuben replied throwing unwanted clothes over her shoulder.

"And you're not jealous that she's dating Danny?" Gen asked arching an eyebrow.

"Of course not" Rhuben replied.

"You're lying" Gen said with a smirk.

"And why would you think that?" Rhuben asked holding up her purple and black striped tie to a black button up shirt.

"Your feet are tapping" Gen replied. "And you only do that when you're nervous or lying about something."

"Damn, I thought I stopped that" Rhuben whispered.

"So you are jealous" Gen asked raising her eyebrows.

"So what if I am?" Rhuben snapped. "You'd be jealous too if Tom was going out with someone else."

"But, he's not, that's the point" Gen said stretching her arms above her head. "So you do love Danny."

"I wouldn't say that I loved him" Rhuben replied slowly. "I really care about him and his being with Melanie does bug me."

"Why?" Gen asked.

"Because she's so nice" Rhuben replied. "She's like the polar opposite of me and it makes me wonder if Danny went to her because of that."

"Danny likes you for you, Rhuben" Gen said placing a sympathetic hand on Rhuben's shoulder. "He doesn't look at Melanie the way he looks at you and he can't tell her everything like he does to you."

"You've got a point" Rhuben said as she set down her clothes. She let out a heavy sigh and turned to face Gen. "His dating her is really bothering me, Gen."

* * *

"That was so awesome" Riley said as she stertched her legs. "What a rush, I didn't think our fans would like that song so much."

The Jacksons were sitting in their dressing room after their performance on CD:USA. They danced and sang to their new song Keep U Dancin. The fans responded well to the song. They made up little dance moves while they stood in the audience, and tried to copy them during some parts.

"Helllo" Sydney said waving his arms in the air. "Who doesn't like to watch us dance?"

"Especially with Rhuben's slammin' choreography" Patrick said as he threw his arms around Rhuben's neck and gave her a hug from behind. She was sitting on the ground, stretching her legs.

"Try not to choke me bro" she said with a small smile.

"I didn't know we'd be performing first" Noah said in his quiet tone. "We normally go last if we're making a debut."

"Maybe they just wanted to get right into it or something" Riley said as she shrugged. "That was probably the scariest moment of my life."

"No, the scariest moment of your life was when you were being chased by that pitbull on your way home" Rhuben said with a smirk. "Back in Australia."

"It's teeth were like Jaws" Riley said defending herself. "And I was eight!"

"Whatever" Rhuben said rolling her eyes.

"_Could we get Busted, McFly, and DarkElements back on stage please_."

"That's us" Sydney said getting to his feet. "Let's go."

Holding hands, the five of htem hurried out of their dressing room and back onstage and under the hot stage lights. They joined McFly and Busted as the loud screams reached their ears.

"Thank you for having us here today" Riley said over the loud cheering.

"We love you guys, we wouldn't be able to do what we're dong without you" Tom added.

"We're glad you loved our performances and we hope you had a good time" James Bourne of Busted added. "Everyone give a big round of applause to the DarkElements for their success on CD:USA for their first time."

The Jacksons grinned as the audience's cheers got louder. Holding hands they bowed and joined in the applause.

"Look out for our next appearnces on CD: USA and look out for the release of our new singles" James said. "We would also like to announce that Busted, McFly, and the DarkElements will be working with each other in the near future and we'll be going on tour with each other."

"Thank you and have a great day" Danny said waving to the audience. With that, the three bands headed off stage and into the crowded area backstage.

"You guys were wonderful" Jake said as he rushed up to McFly and the DarkElements. He exchanged high fives with everyone. "Everyone loved it."

"Congratulations guys" James said as he, Matt Willis, and Charlie Simpson walked over to the DarkElements. "You guys are really talented."

"I didn't think someone as young as you could dance that well" Charlie added smiling at Sydney.

"Rhuben is to thank for that" Sydney said with his dimpled smile. "She's the choreographer for our band."

"Seriously?" Matt asked, his eyes widening in surprise. "That's awesome."

'"I don't think you've formerly met" Jake said. "This is Riley, Rhuben, Patrick, Noah, and Sydney Jackson."

"Hi, its nice to meet you" Riley said as she shook James's hand.

"It's nice to meet you guys too" James said with a warm smile. "We were going to go our for pizza in celebration. You guys want to join us?"

"That'd be awesome" Tom said clapping James on the shoulder. "Is that alright Jake?"

"It's fine with me, you deserve it" Jake said with a nod. "I need to get home anyway. I need to let in the washing machine repair guy."

"Danny, you were wonderful" Melanie shouted as she ran into Danny's arms.

"James, Charlie, Matt, this is my girlfriend Melanie Porter" Danny said motioning to Melanie.

"Nice to meet you, Melanie" James said with a nod.

"Oh my god, you're Busted" Melanie gasped. "I love your songs especially _Who's David_."

"Thank you, that means so much" Charlie said with a warm smile.

"We should get going if we want to keep our reservcations" Matt suggested.

"See you later, Jake" Sydney said giving his manager a hug.

"Have fun you guys" Jake said giving the three bands a wave and headed off in the opposite direction, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket.

"Let's hurry up, I'm starving" Dougie said as his stomach growled.

"You better not eat all of the pizza" Noah warned as the group of musicians grabebd their stuff and headed outside.

"You'll probably be throwing up pizza for the rest of the day if you do" Harry said with a smirk.

"It'll be worth it though" Dougie replied with a grin.

"Gross" Patrick laughed making a face. He looked over at Riley snd saw that she was staring across the street. "You ok? You havcen't spoken since we left."

"I'm just trying to relive the moment when we were on stage" Riley replied slowly, her eyes narrowing a little bit.

The group made it to the pizza parlor a few minutes later and occupied a back corner of the pizza place. A few kids headed over to their table and asked for their autographs which they happily gave.

"What made you guys start your bands?" James asked the Jacksons as he raised a slice of cheese pizza to his mouth.

"We were actually influence by you, McFly, Blink-182 and Tribal Ink" Rhuben replied. "We all love music and playing instruments, but it was me who got the rest of them to dance."

Riley stared outside the window, half listening to what everybody was saying. Dougie was telling her something about skateboarding but she wasn't really paying attention. A man with dark hair and grey eyes passed by the window and peered inside at her as he passed.

He stopped and backed up, giving her a good look. A smile spread across his face and his grey eyes lit up as he waved at her then kept going. Riley's eyes widened in shock.

'_No way, he can't be ou tof jail_' she thought.

"Riles! Riley, are you listening to me?"

"I'm sorry, what?" Riley asked, turning to Dougie.

"I asked if you've ever done a McTwist" Dougie replied. He gave her a hard stare. "Are you ok? You look kind of pale."

"Yeah, I'm fine" Riley replied giving a small smile in reply. "No, I've never done a McTwist before."

* * *

"_Where the _hell_ have you been?" Robert yelled as soon as the front door opened._

"_I'm sorry we're late, daddy" Riley said quietly._

"_It was Riley's and my fault, we lost track of the time" Rhuben added as she and Riley protectively, pushed Patrick, Noah, and Sydney behind them._

"_W-we went to the park" Sydney whispered._

"_You said we could" Patrick and Noah added._

"_I told you to be home two hours ago" Robert snapped._

"_We stopped off to get ice cream" Riley added. Robert slapped her across the face._

"_I thought I told you that you couldn't have dessert for two weeks" Robert said then spat in her face. Wordlessly, Riley wiped her father's saliva off her face. "Get upstairs." Everyone moved towards the stairs. "Riley, you stay here."_

_Riley nodded towards her siblings and they hurried up the stairs. Robert slowly walved circles around Riley,his grey eyes set in a cold glare. Letting out a heavy sigh, he took off his belt and helt it tightly in his hand._

"_Let's see how long you last without screaming" he muttered, pulling his arm back. _

Riley sat up, gasping for air. She wiped the sweat off her forehead and reached over to the night stand and grabbed the bottle. She stared at it for a moment and twisted off the top.

"Ri-Ri, are you ok?" Patrick asked, sitting up. He rubbed his tired eyes and turned on the lamp.

"I'm fine, go back to sleep" Riley replied.

"You're not supposed to take those, yet" Patrick said looking at his watch. "Remember what the doctor said? If you take it earlier than your supposed to-"

"I need it, Patrick" Riley replied dumping some pills into her hand. Patrick jumped out of bed and knocked the pills out of her hand and grabbed the bottle. "What the hell? _I need those_!"

"Not now, you don't" Patrick snapped as he scooped up the pills and slipped them back into the bottle. "Did you have another bad dream?"

"Yeah" Riley replied letting out a sigh as Patrick screwed the cap back on the bottle. "It was about dad this time."

"What?" Patrick asked nearly dropping the bottle on the floor. "Riley, he's in jail, you don't have to worry about him anymore."

"Yes, I do" Riley replied. "All of my bad dreams are warnings remember?"

"Yeah, just like all of Noah's dreams come true" Patrick said with a nod. "Although, right now it's a good thing he never has bad dreams."

"Patrick" Riley whispered looking up at him with an unrecognizable look in her eyes. "I don't think we're safe anymore."

"We have great friends, a place to live, and a great manager" Patrick said sitting down next to her. Riley smiled and pulled Patrick into her lap. "We have something to live for and that's music; keeping our fans happy. I've never felt more safe."


	14. Chapter 14: Beach Ball Games Pt 1

**Chapter 14**

_Beach Ball Games Pt. 1_

"Hello?" Jake called as he stepped into the DeFly household. "Anybody awake yet?"

"Only me" Sydney replied, coming out of the kitchen, eating a banana. "What's up Jake?"

"The Party on the Beach festival is this weekend" Jake replied. "We've been having drama filled days ever since you guys got back, so I figured we could do something fun together."

"That sounds awesome!" Sydney said his eyes lighting up. "I've never heard of the Party on the Beach festival before."

"It's kind of like Party in the Park back in New England" Jake explained. "So, what do you think?"

"It sounds like fun" Sydney said then fell silent, looking around the room.

"What's wrong?" Jake asked seeing the troubled look on the small boy's face.

"No one's having fun anymore" Sydney replied. "That's what making music should be about right?"

"Of course" Jake replied as he directed Sydney towards the kitchen. The two of them sat down at the kitchen table. "What's wrong Syd?"

"Nothing" Sydney muttered.

"Something's bothering you" Jake said. "You aren't your usual perky self."

"I'm fine, ok?!" Sydney snapped getting up to leave the room. Jake grabbed his arm to stop him from leaving and knelt down to his height.

"Sydney, what's wrong?" Jake asked quietly. Sydney bit his bottom lip as tears came to his eyes. "Why are you crying?"

"My life is falling apart, Jake" Sydney whispered, turning to look at him.

"What do you mean?" Jake asked.

"From what my brothers and sisters have told me, we have been living a hard life" Sydney replied. "My biological parents were abusive, they died, and we were adopted by Robert and he's abusive too. We didn't find out until three years later that he was in a coma and that's why he never came after us."

"Sydney, I'm so sorry" Jake whispered. Sydney took in a shaky breath.

"All I want is a family" Sydney whispered.

"You _do_ have a family" Jake replied gently shaking him. Sydney shook his head in reply.

"I want a happy family" Sydney replied. "Sure, having my siblings around is great, but I want a _real_ family. I want a mom and a dad, or just a mom, or just a dad, that loves me and my siblings. Everyday the phone rings I hope it's someone who's willing to adopt us."

"Oh, I get it" Jake replied. "Sydney I promise you, someone will adopt you eventually."

"Thanks, Jake" Sydney said with his dimpled smile as he threw his arms around Jake's neck in a hug.

"No problem, Little Man" Jake replied using the house hold nickname for him. "Now, go wake everybody up and tell them about the festival."

"Alright" Sydney replied and raced out of the room. Jake sighed heavily and got to his feet, heading over to the refrigerator and looking at the calendar.

"Only one and a half months left" he muttered to himself.

"One and a half months till what?"

Jake jumped and turned towards the kitchen door and saw Tom grabbed an apple out of the fruit basket.

"Nothing" Jake replied quickly and turned to face him. He blinked when he saw the look of disbelieve of Tom's face. "What?"

"Oh, come on, Jake" Tom said rolling his eyes. "You've been keeping this big secret and acting like a doofus for a while now. What is it you don't want us to know?"

"I can't say" Jake replied slowly.

"Can you not tell me, or is it everyone you can't tell?" Tom asked. "It's me you're talking to, Jake. Tom Fletcher: the responsible one."

"Good point" Jake said letting out a good natured laugh. "Alright, I guess I can tell you. But you can't go telling the Jacksons."

"Is this about-"

"Yes, this is about them" Jake replied.

"Alright, sorry, go on" Tom said biting into his apple.

"I'm going through the long adoption process" Jake replied. "I'm trying to adopt the Jacksons."

"Jake, that's great" Tom said with a smile. "They're going to be really happy about it. What about Julius?"

"I'm adopting him too" Jake replied. "Sure, he's a legal adult and everything, but he thought it would be better this way. Plus, I need the help."

"Fair point" Tom said raising his eyebrows. "So, Sydney mentioned something about Party on the Beach Festival?"

"Yeah, I figured that would be a perfect opportunity for everybody to have fun together" Jake replied.

"When are we leaving?" Tom asked heading out of the kitchen.

"Around eleven-forty five or so" Jake replied.

"Hey, is it ok if Melanie comes along?" Danny asked, sticking his head into the kitchen. He had the telephone pressed into his shoulder. "Ooh, an apple." He grabbed Tom's apple and took a large bite out of it.

"Hey, I was eating that" Tom protested as Danny placed his apple back into his hand. "Aw, and now it's got Jones saliva on it."

"So Jake, can Melanie come?" Danny asked turning to his manager.

"The more the merrier" Jake replied waving his hand into the air.

"Awesome" Danny replied with a grin as he headed back up the stairs. "Yeah, Mel, you can come along. Come by my house and we can all walk over."

"So, when are you going to tell them?" Tom asked Jake.

"On Riley and Rhuben's birthday" Jake replied. "Which is only a month and a half away."

"Ah, I see" Tom replied with a nod. "Alright then, tell me when you're going to leave." Quickly finishing his apple, Tom headed up the stairs and towards his room when he passed Gen who was standing in the doorway of Rhuben's room, talking to her and Riley. "Morning, Gen."

"Morning" Gen replied and gave Tom a quick kiss on the cheek. She waited until he disappeared into his room before returning to her conversation with Riley and Rhuben. "So anyway, Melanie is coming with us."

"Grrrreat" Rhuben muttered getting to her feet. "That's just what I need."

"By any chance, is she jealous of Melanie and Danny?" Riley asked in a whisper. Gen nodded in reply. "I thought so." Wordlessly, Riley walked over to her twin and punched her on the arm.

"_Ow_!" Rhuben yelled, grabbing her arm. "Holy cricket! What'd you do that for?!"

"I said that I'd punch you if you ever fell in love with Danny" Riley replied with a grin.

"Don't make me hurt you" Rhuben muttered glaring at her sister. "I _really_ don't need that right now."

"You need to get over him, Rhu" Gen said with a sigh as she crossed the room to Riley's computer. "There are plenty of fish in the sea, you can find another guy."

"Coming from the girl who is happy with her boyfriend" Rhuben snapped.

"I think you had more fun when you hated boys" Riley said as she put her hands on her hips. She sighed and a smirk came to her face. "Do you ever forget those days?"

"No" Gen immediately replied. "Alright guys, Jacqui is on a video chat. Can you hear us?"

"_Loud and clear_" Jacqui replied wit ha grin. "_So, how's Harry doing_?"

"Asking about you" Riley replied. "We haven't had time to video chat or call but he promised he'd talk to you soon."

"_Awesome_" Jacqui replied punching her fists into the air. "_Late night chats with Mr. Judd_."

"I think you've been in la-la land for too long" Rhuben said with a teasing smile.

"Anyway, Danny is dating this girl named Melanie" Gen said.

"_Is she one of those clingy type of girlfriend_?" Jacqui asked. "_Because if she is, I'd be happy to knock her head clear off her shoulders. Just give me a plane ticket and I'll be there as fast as I can_."

"Calm down, Jay" Riley said putting up her hands. "She's really nice. Everybody likes her . . . well, except Rhuben, Sydney, and Noah."

"_I can understand Rhuben, but why doesn't Sydney and Noah like her_?" Jacqui asked.

"Because she's the reason why Rhuben's unhappy" Gen replied.

"Hey, I'm still in the room" Rhuben protested. "I can speak for myself."

"_You need to make him jealous_" Jacqui replied.

"Say what?" Gen, Riley, and Rhuben asked in unison.

"_He's probably using her to make you jealous, so use someone else to make _him_ jealous_" Jacqui replied with a grin. "_It's foolproof. I've done that myself plenty of times_."

"Well _that_ explains it" Riley muttered.

"_What's _that_ supposed to mean_?"

"Nothing, really!"

"_So anyway, if you want Danny to notice you, then either make him jealous by finding some other guy, or act just like Melanie_" Jacqui replied.

"You know what?" Gen said slowly, a smile spreading across her face. "That's not a bad idea." Gen, Riley, and Jacqui all gave Rhuben a grin.

"Oh no, no way" Rhuben said waving her arms. "There is _no way_ I'm going to act like Melanie to make Danny jealous."

* * *

"I _can't believe_ I'm going to act like Melanie to make Danny jealous" Rhuben said darkly as she glared at Gen.

"Quit moving, you're making me smudge" Gen snapped as she wiped a stray smear of mascara at the side of Rhuben's eye.

"Unless you've forgotten, I don't like make up" Rhuben snapped.

"I think you look good" Dougie commented. "Riles, you need to wear make up more often."

"I'll remember that" Riley said as she rolled her eyes. She motioned for Patrick to lean towards her and he did. "He's pretty much implying that I look bad without make-up. He's going to pay for that one."

"Yeah" Patrick whispered as the two of them high fived.

"Is everybody ready to go?" Jake called up the stairs.

"We'll be down in a minute" Harry shouted back. "You really do look good, Rhuben."

"Here" Gen said slapping a small tube into Rhuben's hand. "It's lip gloss."

"Come on you guys, let's go" Tom said knocking on the doorframe. "Jake is getting impatient. You look good, Rhu."

"Thanks" Rhuben said through clenched teeth.

"Patrick, Noah, Sydney, go get our boards" Riley whispered to her brothers.

"Right" the three of them said in unison and hurried out of the bathroom. Everyone one else followed and headed into the foyer where Jake, Melanie, and Danny were waiting.

"Do I want to know why all of you were crammed into one bathroom?" Jake asked arching an eyebrow.

"No, you really don't" Dougie replied with a nervous grin.

"It's nice to see you again, Melanie" Riley said nodding towards her.

"It's great to see you guys again" Melanie said with a grin.

"We've got your boards" Patrick announced as he, Noah, and Sydney came into the foyer.

"Great, let's go" Harry said as he and Dougie grabbed Rhuben's arms and started to pull her out the door.

"Ow, ow, ow" Rhuben cried. "You're going to pull my arms out of my sockets."

"Whoa" Danny whispered once he got a good look at Rhuben.

"Come on or we'll be late" Gen said with a grin as she pulled Tom out the door.

"I really don't want know do I?" Jake asked Patrick, Noah, and Sydney.

"No, you really don't" Sydney agreed shaking his head.

He exchanged glances with his older brothers before heading out the door behind Riley. Jake, Melanie, and Danny exchanged confused glances. Melanie took Danny's hand and pulled him out the door. Jake sighed heavily and looked up at the ceiling.

"This is going to be a long day."

* * *

"Are you saying you want us to participate in some of the events?" Tom asked, "I'm not sure if you know this, but the only athletic person out of all of us is Danny!"

"Hey, I can play cricket!" Harry protested.

"And Harry" Tom added.

"And I can skateboard . . . a little" Dougie muttered.

"Ok, so everyone but me!" Tom said throwing his arms into the air.

"It's alright, Tom" Gen said as she slid her arm around his waist.

"It's great publicity plus all of your fans like to see you guys make fools of yourselves" Jake replied with a grin.

"Thanks" the McFly boys muttered in unison.

"Danny, let's sign up for volleyball" Melanie suggested, grabbing his arm.

"Alright, let's go" Danny said before he took her hand and the two of them headed towards the registration desk.

"Its times like this I wished skateboarding was a part of it" Dougie muttered.

"Oh come on" Harry said rolling his eyes. "You can sign up for body surfing, boogie boarding, surfing, sandcastle contest-"

"You can sign up for the sandcastle contest with me" Sydney said bouncing on his toes.

"Or you could sign up for surfing" Patrick offered. "That's what Riley and I are doing."

"Or you could do wakeboarding" Noah piped up. "That's what Rhuben and I are doing."

"Mhm" Rhuben replied with a nod.

"So, what is it going to be?" Harry asked. "You have to pick something."

"Coming from the person who got an easy way out!" Tom snapped.

"Yeah, who's ever heard of beach cricket?" Dougie asked, rolling his eyes.

"They have a pie eating contest" Jake added.

"Sign me up" Dougie shouted shooting his arm into the air.

"What am I going to do?" Tom asked almost in a whine.

"Let's help Sydney with his sandcastle" Gen offered. "It'll be fun."

"Alright" Tom replied with a smile as he slapped Sydney a high five.

"Ok, so Riley and Patrick are surfing, Rhuben and Noah are wakeboarding, Harry is doing cricket, Dougie's doing the pie eating contest, Tom, Sydney, and Gen are doing sandcastles, and Danny and Melanie are playing volleyball" Jake said to himself as he headed over to the sign up desk. "That's everybody."

"_Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the first annual Party on the Beach, Beach Ball Games. The first event coming up in half an hour is the surfing competition. There's plenty of food and activities. Don't forget the concert around four O'clock. Busted will be performing. Have a nice day everyone."_

"And now it's time for the Jackson cam" Sydney said with a smile as he pulled out his video camera. "It's going to be a really fun day." He looked up and noticed that his friends all went off in different directions. Rhuben was still standing beside him, but was watching Melanie and Danny. Occasionally, Danny would shoot glances in her direction. Sydney sighed heavily and turned the camera around to face him. "There will be lots of drama too."


	15. Chapter 15: Beach Ball Games Pt 2

**A/N: Jake isn't a big character in this chapter. He'll be mention/speak a couple of times.**

* * *

**Chapter Fifteen**

_Beach Ball Games Pt. 2_

Sydney and Rhuben were aimlessly walking around the beach, waiting for the surfing competition to start. They spent a good portion of their time signing autographs for the kids that were there.

"Hey, guys, the surfing competition is about to start" Danny said as he walked up to Rhuben and Sydney as a small boy walked away from them, grinning from ear to ear, waving their autographs in the air. He had his arm wrapped around Melanie's waist, holding her tight against him.

"We were just about to head over there" Sydney replied, snapping the lid to his pen.

"You guys go ahead, I want to get something to eat" Rhuben said jerking her thumb in the direction of the food stands. "You go with them Sydney, and stay with one of us at all times."

"Alright, Rhu-Rhu" Sydney said turning to follow Danny and Melanie over to find Riley and Patrick. He looked back and rolled her eyes at her. Rhuben gave a small smile and waved as she headed towards the food stands.

"Doughnuts, fried Oreos, ice cream, hamburgers, funnel cake" Rhuben said to herself as she slowly walked past the food stands. "Funnel cake sounds good." She got in back of the line and waited for her turn at the counter. As she waited, she signed some autographs and took pictures for some kids."

"_Next_."

"Um, how much is a funnel cake?" Rhuben asked pulling out her wallet.

"A small, medium, large, or jumbo?" the man behind the counter asked. "And it's a dollar fifty extra for toppings."

"I'll have a large" Rhuben said glancing at the sign behind the man's head. "With hot fudge, powdered sugar, and strawberries."

"That'll be six forty five" the man said as he punched the keys on the cash register. I looked into my wallet and let out a groan.

'_Could this day get _any_ worse_?' Rhuben thought assheI stared at the small amount of money in my wallet. "I only have four dollars and sixty cents" she muttered, feeling embarrassed.

"This should help" a deep English voice said as a hand dropped extra money onto the counter. Rhuben added hers and the cashier scooped it up.

"Thanks mate" Rhuben said letting out a sigh and turning around.

"No problem" the boy standing behind me said with a smile.

"Wait a minute, you're from Busted" Rhuben said as she gave the boy a hard stare. "Charlie right?"

"Charlie Simpson" the boy replied with a smile, the gap in his front two teeth showing. "And you're Riley?"

"Rhuben. It's nice to see you again" Rhuben said as she waited for her funnel cake. "Well, since you paid for half the funnel cake, would you like to split it with me?"

"It would save me from having to buy another one" Charlie replied. "Plus, you got the toppings on it that I like so, I'd love to."

"Thanks again for the money help" Rhuben said as she grabbed the plate of funnel cake and some napkins. Charlie broke off a piece and popped it into his mouth. "I forgot to grab extra money out of my bank this morning."

"It's no problem, really" Charlie replied.

"So, I heard you were performing today" Rhuben said as she ate a strawberry.

"Yeah, I can't wait" Charlie replied his eyes lighting up. "We have a new song to play everyone."

"What is it? Rhuben asked.

"I'm not going to tell you" Charlie laughed. "Then it won't be a surprise."

"Whatever" Rhuben said with a smirk as she rolled her eyes.

The two of them sat down in the sand and silently continued to eat the funnel cake. They stared out across the ocean and pointed out some of the small kids, that were playing at the water's edge, who made them laugh to each other.

"What's with the make up?" Charlie asked as he broke off another piece of the funnel cake. Rhuben looked up at him, an eyebrow raised. "Not to be rude or anything."

Rhuben quickly ate the last of the funnel cake and stuck her tongue out at Charlie who gave her a 'That's-not-fair' look.

"I don't normally wear it" Rhuben replied slowly as if she was choosing her words. "I don't normally wear these clothes either. I'm a tomboy."

"So why are you wearing it?" Charlie repeated.

"I guess the simplest way to put it is I'm trying to compete with a girl for this guy" Rhuben replied.

"Well, if its going to make you act like someone you're not, then don't" Charlie replied. "Let her have him. If you don't like yourself there's no point."

"Wow, that was deep" Rhuben said with a laugh. "But, you're right." She grabbed the napkins and headed over to the water, dipping it into the water. She wiped the make up off her face.

"_There's _Rhuben" Charlie said with a grin as Rhuben sat back down beside him and pulled her hair from her pony-tail. Rhuben grinned in reply and put her arms behind her, leaning her weight on them. "What are you thinking about?"

"Why I'm telling you about my problems" Rhuben replied with a small smile.

"Eh, I'm a good listener" Charlie replied with a grin as he too leaned back on his arms.

"Yeah, you are" Rhuben replied tucking her lock of purple hair behind her ear.

She turned to him and gave him a shy smile, which he returned. His smile slowly faded as he leaned towards her. Rhuben's fingers twitched nervously as she she, in turn, leaned towards him. She felt his breath tickle her lips when-"

"Hey, mateage, what's going on?"

Rhuben put her face in her hands as she blushed. Charlie sighed heavily and looked up at James and Matt as they walked over to the two of them, big grins on their faces.

"Perfect timing" he said in a monotone. "You guys remember Rhuben."

"Hey" James said with a nod and small wave at Rhuben.

"Dude, you got funnel cake without us?!" Matt asked once he saw the empty plate.

"He helped me buy it" Rhuben said getting to her feet and brushed the sand off the back of her pants. "I was low on money."

"Always the gentleman" James said shaking his head. "You are so posh."

"I am not" Charlie said getting to his feet and punching James on the arm.

"_Surfers, please head towards the shore line and get ready for your competition._"

"My brother and sister are in that competition" Rhuben said trying to change the subject. "You guys want to watch it with me and my family? Tom, Danny, Dougie, and Harry are with us too."

"Sure" the three boys replied in unison.

"Cool, they're waiting over here" Rhuben said as she headed down the beach. James grabbed onto Charlie's shoulder and waited until Matt and Rhuben were a few feet ahead of them.

"So what _was_ going on between you two?" James asked, the grin returning to his face.

"You know exactly what was going on" Charlie muttered.

"I swear I don't" James replied the smile never leaving his face. "You two seemed pretty cozy once Matt and I got back."

"There was a reason for that" Charlie said as he shoved his hands into his pockets.

"And that reason is?" James asked raising his eyebrows.

"I was going to kiss her, matage" Charlie snapped.

"I thought so" James replied with a laugh. "I just wanted you to say it."

* * *

"Well, we've got to get going" Riley said as she stretched her arms over her head. "Ready Patrick?"

"Hell yeah" Patrick said bumping fists with her.

"Can you guys even surf?" Dougie asked crossing his arms over his chest.

"A little" Riley replied picking up her surfboard and headed towards the water.

"We do it every now and then" Patrick added with wink towards his siblings. Noah and Sydney exchanged amused glances.

"Why do I get the feeling that they're lying?" Tom asked.

"I have that same feeling too" Harry said shaking his head.

"_Up next the girl's Junior X-Games champion, Riley 'SpitFire' Jackson. And the boy's Junior X-Games champion, Patrick 'Thundaga' Jackson._"

Riley and Patrick waved to the screaming and cheering crowds before they headed out into the water.

"I should have seen that coming" Danny said shaking his head. "You guys never cease to amaze me. 'A little', 'We do it every now and then' yeah right! What else can you guys do?"

"A lot" Gen and Sydney replied in unison.

"We're even second degree black belts in Karate."

The group of friends turned and saw Rhuben walking over to them with James, Charlie, and Matt behind her.

"Mind if they hang out with us today?" she asked motioning to the Busted boys.

"It's alright" Tom said giving James a hug.

"Melanie, this is James Bourne, Charlie Simpson, and Matt Willis of Busted" Danny said motioning to his friends. "Guys, this is my girlfriend Melanie Porter."

"It's nice to meet you" James, Charlie, and Matt said shaking her hand in turn.

"It's great o meet you" Melanie gushed. "I love your music, its amazing."

"Thank you" James said with a smile. Charlie looked from Rhuben to Melanie and back, a look of realization crossing his face.

"_And finishing their run just barely making it out of a tube, Riley and Patrick Jackson. Let's go to the judges for their scores. Nine, nine, eight, and a ten. That'll be a tough act to follow._"

Sydney and Gen were jumping up and down, waving pom-poms in the air and cheering their heads off. Rhuben and Noah slapped each other a high five.

"Are you guys participating in any of the events?" Harry asked the Busted lads.

"Eh, no" Matt replied. "We didn't feel like it. We're watching and performing today."

"Lucky, Jake is making us sign up for something" Dougie said to them but gave Riley a wide smile and a kiss on the cheek as she and Patrick joined them.

"Dougie's participating in the pie eating contest" Riley said putting her arm across his shoulders.

"Not surprise there, matage" Charlie replied, laughing.

"Matage?" Melanie asked, wrinkling her nose.

"Charlie likes to add 'age' to the ends of words" Danny explained. Melanie nodded in reply.

"Come on Dougie" Jake said heading up to the group.

"Where are we going?" Dougie asked as Jake started to pull him away.

"Pie eating contest" Jake replied.

"Awesome!" Dougie yelled punching his fists into the air. "I'm going to win this easy."

"It actually wouldn't surprise me if he did" Harry said causing everyone to laugh as Dougie rushed up on stage to get ready for the pie eating contest.

"Look, he's bouncing in excitement" Danny pointed out. "He's like a little kid waiting to open presents Christmas morning."

"Hey, don't tease him" Riley said with a smirk lightly slapping his back. "Only I can."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make the girlfriend mad" Danny said with a smirk of his own.

"He's not my boyfriend" Riley said as she lifted Sydney into her arms.

"I thought you were dating" Melanie said giving Riley a confused look.

"He hasn't really asked me to be his girlfriend" Riley replied shaking his head.

"So ask him" Sydney replied with his dimple smile.

"It's not that simple" Riley replied, tracing his dimple with her finger.

"_The first person to eat twenty pies with their arms behind their backs wins_."

"TWENTY PIES?!" Patrick and Noah yelled in unison, their eyes widening with shock.

"Dougie'll be able to do it easy" Tom said as Gen leaned against him. He wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on her shoulder.

"_On you marks, get set, go_!"

"Come on, Dougs" Rhuben shouted. "You can do it!"

"Dougie, Dougie he's our man, if he can't do it, no one can" Sydney cheered, waving his arms in the air.

"Dude, he's inhaling that like he's a vacuum cleaner" Matt gasped in shock.

"He is when it comes to food" Harry replied. "Nothing makes him happier than eating."

"And he doesn't gain a pound" Melanie gasped. "I'm so jealous. It's so hard for me to lose all of that weight."

"But you don't need to" Danny replied kissing her on the cheek. "You're perfect."

"Aw, you're sweet" Melanie coed running her fingers through his hair.

All of Dougie's friends watched as the pie eating contest came to a close end. There were seven contestants in all but there were only three left; two girls and him.

"You're almost there, Dougie" James cheered as one of the final two girls dropped out.

"I don't think he'll win" Gen said biting her thumbnail. "That other girl is sucking down those pies. She's halfway done with her last one."

"Do they have two stomachs or something?" Sydney asked.

"In Dougie's case he has a bottomless pit for a stomach" Charlie cracked, causing everybody to laugh.

"_Time's up. We have a winner!_"

Dougie groaned and leaned back in his chair, whipped cream smeared around his mouth and nose. He placed both of his hands on his stomach as if he was going to throw up.

"_And the winner is-what's your name_?"

"Jacqui Guhl" the girl replied grinning widely.

"JACQUI GUHL?!" the Jacksons yelled in unison.

"Hi, guys" Jacqui said waving at the Jacksons as she wiped her mouth on a napkin. "What's up? Holy moley, frijoles, you're Busted!"

"Guys, this is our friend Jacqui Guhl" Rhuben said as she gave Jacqui a big hug. "Jacqui this is James Bourne, Charlie Simpson, Matt Willis, Tom Fletcher, Danny Jones, his girlfriend Melanie Porter, Dougie Poynter, and Harry Judd."

"It's nice to finally meet you in person" Jacqui said pushing Riley and Gen out of her way and held out her hand to Harry.

"Likewise" he replied shaking her hand and giving a warm smile. "I must say you're even more fit in person." Jacqui blushed as Harry kissed her hand.

"Dougie are you ok?" Riley asked with a laugh as she placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Besides the fact that I feel like I'm going to throw up?" Dougie asked sarcastically. "I'm just peachy! I thought I had this contest locked."

"Jacqui is really good at pie eating contests" Riley said with a grin. "Is there anything I could do to make you feel better?"

"A kiss would suffice" Dougie replied with a grin as he got to his feet.

"Not with whipped cream on your face I'm not" Riley said with a laugh as she pushed Dougie away from her.

"Oh come on" Dougie said, laughing as he wrapped his arms around her waist. Riley smiled and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "Mm, better than whipped cream." Riley blushed as her smile got bigger.


	16. Chapter 16: Beach Ball Games Pt 3

**Chapter Sixteen**

_Beach Ball Games Pt 3_

"I can't believe you're here" Riley said as she gave Jacqui a hug. Patrick, Noah, and Sydney were jumping in a circle chanting, 'Jacqui's here. Jacqui's here. Jacqui's here."

"Not to be rude, but _why_ are you here?" Rhuben asked. Without waiting for an answer, she turned and gave Gen a hard stare. "What'd you do?"

"I kinda used your guys' money to get Jacqui a plane ticket out here" Gen replied slowly.

"And how'd you get the money?" Rhuben asked.

"Credit card?" Gen replied as more of a question. Rhuben arced an eyebrow and Gen put up her hands defensively. "I got your brother's permission!"

"Aw, who cares" Rhuben replied with a grin. "I'm glad you're here, Jacqui."

"So am I" Jacqui replied putting her arms around Riley and Rhuben.

"Come on you guys, the volleyball game is about to start" Jake said walking over to the group. He started to lead the group towards the volleyball court. The girls fell back so they could talk and catch up with their friend.

"Now, how's everything going on in your love lives?"

"You couldn't wait to ask us that in person could you?" Riley asked with a grin.

"No, I couldn't" Jacqui replied with a sheepish grin. "So? How are you and Dougie doing?"

"Good?" Riley replied as more of a question. "We haven't made it official yet, like Tom and Gen, but we're good."

"Do you want me to talk to him for you?" Jacqui asked.

"No way" Riley replied with a laugh. "Besides, Gen is the self proclaimed matchmaker, not you."

"I don't get to sing with you guys and I don't get to help with your relationships" Jacqui said wiping a pretend tear. "I guess I finally realize what kind of friend you guys are."

"You're forgetting that you give us ideas for music videos and drive us insane about your fantasies of Harry, I think it counts" Gen pointed out with a small laugh.

"And you're Patrick, Noah, and Sydney's babysitter" Rhuben added.

"So you and Dougie are happy, even if you aren't an official couple yet" Jacqui recapped. "Tom and Gen are official, but trying to stay out of the spot light, and you and Danny have your issues."

"Issues is a good word for it" Rhuben replied, staring out across the ocean. "We haven't been talking much and I don't mind that he's dating Melanie."

"Liar" Gen coughed.

"I'm serious" Rhuben replied, giving Gen a hard stare. "I really don't care about who he dates. It's his own life and we're still friends so it doesn't matter."

"Something happened" Riley said giving her sister a suspicious look.

"What do you mean?" Rhuben replied stretching her arms above her head.

"I can just tell by the look on your face" Riley said rolling her eyes. Rhuben sighed heavily and shoved her hands into her jeans pockets.

"Ok, what I'm going to tell you, you can't tell anyone else" she said quietly, glancing at the group of boys ahead of her. "Swear?"

"Swear" Riley and Gen replied in unison, locking pinkies with Rhuben. Jacqui hesitated, glancing at their locked pinkies. "Jacqui!"

"You know how hard it is for me to keep a secret" Jacqui pointed out, putting her hands on her hips.

"Jacqui!" her three friends snapped.

"Alright, alright" Jacqui said rolling her eyes, and locked pinkies with her three friends. "I swear."

"Ok, I guess I can tell you" Rhuben said with a sigh. She glanced at the group of boys one more time. "Charlie and I almost kissed."

"_WHAT_?" Riley, Gen, and Jacqui screamed in unison as Rhuben motioned for them to be quiet, as they got various people to turn and look at them.

* * *

"I wonder what _that_ was about" Melanie said as she gently squeezed Danny's hand as the group of them headed to the volleyball pit.

"With Gen and Jacqui there, they're probably talking about guys" Dougie guessed, looking back over his shoulder.

"That doesn't surprise me" Sydney commented as Tom lifted him into his arms. "Jacqui always has to be talking about boys."

"Of anything, they might be talking about Charlie and Rhuben" James said with a grin. He cried out in pain and grabbed his side when Charlie elbowed him. "Ow, what?"

"What'd I miss?" Matt asked his eyes widening. "Does this have anything to do with the two of you when James and I got back from putting up our instruments?"

"What's going on?" Danny asked.

"Nothing" Charlie replied quickly.

"James?" Tom asked, turning to his friend.

"Don't you dare tell him" Charlie said tugging on his hair.

"Go ahead James, I want to hear this" Harry said with an amused smirk. James grinned at Charlie before replying.

"Charlie and Rhuben were going to kiss but Matt and I came up at that moment" he replied. "Ow!" Charlie punched him on the arm.

"What?" Tom, Harry, Danny, Dougie, Matt, and Melanie yelped. Danny let out a low whistle before glancing at the girls over his shoulder.

"Ewwwwwww" Patrick, Noah, and Sydney winced.

"How'd _that_ happen?" Tom asked, an amused look on his face.

"Well, I bumped into her at the line for funnel cake" Charlie explained, scratching his head. "She was low on money, I helped her buy it, and she offered to share it with me."

"And you didn't save us any" Matt said with a pout as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Would you stop going on about that?" James asked rolling his eyes.

"Anyway, we sat down at the water's edge talking and eating" Charlie replied waving his hand in the air. "The next thing I knew, I was leaning over to kiss her. Then _these two_ knuckle heads had to interrupt." He went to hit James and Matt on the head, but they ducked before he could.

"I don't know why you're so embarrassed, mate" Dougie said shoving his hands into his pockets. "She's really fit."

"Don't let Riley hear you say that" Harry said with a smirk. Dougie rolled his eyes in reply.

"Well, we've got a volleyball game to win" Danny said breaking away from the group of friends, pulling Melanie behind him. "Wish us luck."

"Good luck" Sydney replied with his dimpled smile. "So, when is your concert?"

"In a few hours" James replied looking at his watch. "You guys are coming to watch right?"

"Definitely" Patrick and Noah replied in unison. "I can't wait. I love your music."

"We do everything we can for our fans" Matt said as he wrapped his arms around Patrick and Noah' waists and lifted them off the ground. They giggled as they were carried across the sand.

* * *

"Thank you very much" James said waving to the screaming crowd. "You guys are awesome."

"We have one more song for you guys this afternoon" Charlie said before taking a sip of water. "We want to thank all of you for coming out here and thank you for following our music since day one."

"This last song we're going to sing is called Nerdy" Matt said running his fingers through his hair. "But, we're going to need a little help with this one. Have you heard of a band called the DarkElements?"

"What is he doing?" Sydney asked as the cheering got louder. He saw the looks on McFly's faces and put two and two together. "You know something don't you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about" Tom replied wrapping an arm around Gen's waist as the Busted boys waited for the applause to die down.

"Jake?" Riley and Rhuben asked, turning to look at their manager. Jake whistled, in reply, looking around the arena. "Jake!"

"Now, all of you know that we're the ones that helped McFly start their music career" James said as he slid sunglasses over his eyes. "Now, both of our bands are helping the DarkElements with their career. We've already got interviews and TV spots lined up."

"And we've also got a tour coming up soon" Charlie added. "But enough talking about that."

"Everybody, give a round of applause to the DarkElements" Matt concluded, leading everyone in applause.

"Are you serious?" Noah asked, his mouth hanging open.

"Seriously, serious" Matt replied, shifting his guitar so it was resting onto his back. He walked to the edge of the stage and held out his hands. Patrick and Noah exchanged grins, and took his hands, climbing up onto the stage.

"Come on you guys" James said with a grin as he and Charlie took Matt's lead. Dougie put his hands on Riley's waist, as she grabbed James's hand, and helped her up on stage.

"Thanks" she said giving him a smile.

"No problem" Dougie replied with a smile and crossed his arms over his chest. "Have fun."

"Come on, Rhuben" Charlie said holding out his hand to her. Rhuben let out a laugh.

"No way" she said shaking her head.

"Go on, it looks like fun" Melanie said giving her a little push. "You're great at singing, so go ahead and sing, have a good time."

"Oh, alright" Rhuben said as Charlie helped her up onstage.

"Here you go" a stage hand said as he handed the Jacksons a cordless microphone. James ushered everyone over to him and placed his hand over the microphone that was connected to his head mic.

"Alright you guys, Riley will be singing with me, Rhuben with Charlie, Patrick and Noah will sing with Matt, and Sydney, you'll have a solo near the end of the song" James said to them. "I'll point to you when you start singing."

"Got it" Sydney said with his dimpled smile.

"Alright everyone this is the last song and we want all of you to sing with us" Matt said addressing the crowd. "This song is called Nerdy."

"1, 2, 3, 4" Charlie counted. The cheering in the audience got louder as James, Charlie, and Matt played the opening chords of the song.

"It's always been up to your friends, they'll make your mind up for you" Charlie sang, both hands on the microphone. He smiled as he heard the people in the audience singing along.

"The popularity's gone to your head" Rhuben sang, holding the microphone in one hand and using the other to point at her head. "But still I don't ignore you." She pointed at some of the kids in the front row and their screams got louder.

"You ran for school election, you even got my vote" Matt sang in a high voice looking out over the crowd.

"And did you know?" James and Riley sang in unison.

"My favourite pastime's poetry, and yesterday I wrote" Patrick sang putting his hand over his heart.

"Just because I'm nerdy, and my friends are thirty, It doesn't mean that I swing that way" all of them sang. The Jacksons were dancing a little bit in place. "If you've got complications, and a reputation, wouldn't wanna get in your way. Oh anyway."

"This morning you walked past my door, just like a daydream, but much more" James sang, looking at Riley and doing a double take, making her laugh.

"I followed you round to the store, and I was shell-shocked, when I saw" Riley sang miming everything Noah did on the stage, making him smile.

"You and your friends were smoking, it always makes me choke" Matt sang shaking his head.

"And did you know?"

"I'd do anything to have you, but I wouldn't take a toke" Noah sang putting up his hand. "Hey."

Just because I'm nerdy, and my friends are thirty, it doesn't mean that I swing that way" James, Charlie, and Matt sang heading towards the front of the stage, with the Jacksons at their sides.

"If you've got complications, and a reputation" the Jacksons sang, their voices mixing automatically in a perfect harmony. "Wouldn't wanna get in your way. Oh anyway."

"Anyway, anyway yeah" James sang winking at his friends. Melanie and Jacqui nearly fainted on the spot. He turned and pointed at Sydney, who's dimples deepened as he sang.

"You said my words were beautiful, they almost made you cry" he sang in a somewhat shy voice, making the people in the audience grow quiet. "The markings on the wall were jaded, I wonder why?"

The screaming from the audience got louder as the Jacksons did a short series of back flips before they started singing again. James, Charlie, and Matt roamed around the stage as the Jacksons sang.

"Just because you're nerdy, and your friends are thirty, doesn't mean she won't swing your way" the Jacksons sang, putting their free arms around each other. "If she's got complications, and a reputation, go ahead and stand in her way."

"Just because you're nerdy, and your friends are thirty, doesn't mean she won't swing your way" James, Charlie, and Matt sang, heading back over to their microphones. "If she's got complications, and a reputation, so ahead and stand in her way."

"But anyway" Charlie and Rhuben sang pointing towards the sky.

"Anyway" James, Riley, and Patrick repeated.

"Anyway" Matt, Noah, and Sydney concluded the song. Noah took Sydney's hand and bowed as the audience, screamed and clapped.

"Thank you very much" James said waving to the crowd. He, Charlie, and Matt motioned to the Jacksons who took each other's hands and bowed. They then took James, Matt, and Charlie's hands and bowing.

* * *

"That was so much fun" Noah said with a bright smile. "Thanks for the fun day, Jake."

"No problem" Jake replied, his arms filled with trophies and ribbons, that the kids won that day.

"You guys had an epic volleyball game" Rhuben said to Danny and Melanie as she bounced Tom's volleyball on the ground. "The game was so close, all of us were really tense."

"Thanks" Melanie said with a grin. "Danny and I were getting really nervous. You looked like you were going to puke."

"I felt like it too" Danny muttered, rubbing the back of his head. "But, we pulled through and we won, eleven to ten."

"So, how'd you like performing with us?" James asked as Sydney walked beside him, wrapped in a towel.

"It was so much fun" he replied his eyes shining. "I can't wait to perform again. And I can't wait for the tour. What about you guys?"

"There aren't enough emotions to describe it" Rhuben replied as she juggled the volleyball, kicking it into the air repeatedly with her left and right foot.

"Excited pretty much sums it up" Patrick and Noah replied.

"What about you, Riley?" Matt asked. He looked around when he didn't get an answer. "Riles?"

He turned around saw Riley standing, frozen in the middle of the sidewalk. She was staring across the street, her eyes fixed on something.

"Is she ok?" Jacqui whispered to Gen. She shrugged in reply.

"Riley?" Dougie asked quietly, walking over to her. "Riles." He gently shook her shoulder and she flinched as if she was scared. "You ok?"

"I just saw-"Riley swallowed thickly, her blue eyes holding an unrecognizable look to it. "Dougie, I just saw my dad."

"You-what? Where?" Dougie asked, his eyes widening.

"Over . . . there" Riley pointed across the street. A confused look crossed her face. "I just saw-nevermind. I'm just tired."

"You sure?" Dougie asked, putting his arm across her shoulders. Riley nodded and leaned into his embrace.

"Yeah, I'm positive" she replied.

"If you say so" Dougie replied with a sigh.


	17. Chapter 17: I'm Not Crazy

**Chapter Seventeen**

_I'm Not Crazy_

It's been a month since the Beach Ball Games and everything has actually been peaceful around the bands. The DarkElements have put out a new single to their upcoming CD on their myspace page and they've already gotten a lot of positive feedback from their fans.

The McFly boys are currently working on their new CD and trying to juggle that with hanging out with their friends, and in Tom and Danny's case, their girlfriends. To everyone's surprise, Rhuben and Melanie get along as if they've been friends since they were kids. The Busted boys are also working on their new CD, _And She Said_.

The three bands are pretty inseparable and have been hanging out together constantly. They still think Jake has been acting weirder than usual; he hardly goes around to the DE-Fly household and always has a lot of errands to go on. But, the one thing that all of them can't wait for is their first tour as a tri-band.

But, one thing that everybody has been noticing recently, was how annoyed Riley seemed to get when Dougie was around her, and how he was spending more time by himself and not being the crazy stud that everyone was used to.

Patrick stirred in his sleep when he heard a rustling noise. He stretched his arms over his head and yawned, before turning on the lamp. He blinked when he saw Riley sitting up in bed, staring at a bottle in her hands.

"It's not time to take that yet" he said, rubbing his eye.

"I know that" Riley snapped. "You don't have to tell me when or when not toke it."

"You feeling ok?" Patrick asked, widening his eyes.

"Yeah, I'm fine" Riley replied, waving her hand, finally looking up at him. "Don't worry."

"You didn't run out of pills did you?" Patrick asked, arching an eyebrow.

"No, I still have some left" Riley replied. A grin came to her face. "Can you believe that we'll be going on tour? We'll be on the road for months, playing concerts like, every night, and we'll be hanging out with McFly and Busted constantly."

"Speaking of McFly" Patrick said slowly. "How's everything with you and Dougie? You seem kind of . . . fallen out?"

"We're doing fine, you don't have anything to worry about" Riley said setting her bottle of pills back on the bedside table.

"What made you wake up anyway?" Patrick asked looking at the clock. "It's 3:45 in the morning."

"I had a dream about dad" Riley replied. "I saw him."

"Well, if you dreamed about him, of course you saw-"

"No" Riley interrupted him, a serious look crossing her face. "I saw him; twice. Like, I saw him on the streets, walking around."

"He's in jail Riley" Patrick said slowly. "He won't be back anytime soon."

"_No_!" Riley hissed her eyes flashing in anger. Patrick's eyes widened in shock. Riley has never spoken to him like that before. "I _swear_ I saw him. I swear it, Pat. I'm not kidding." Patrick continued to stare at her. "You think I'm crazy?!"

"No, I don't" Patrick replied quickly, shaking his head. "I think you're tired. Just, go to sleep and everything will be better in the morning."

"Right, you're right" Riley replied, laying down and pulling her blankets up to her chin. Patrick sighed heavily and turned off the lamp before falling back asleep.

* * *

"Morning" Gen chirped before kissing Tom on the cheek and sitting down at the kitchen table. "What are you making?"

"Morning, Gen" Tom replied with a smile. "I'm making pancakes this morning. That way, everyone can sleep in if they want."

"I can see why" Gen said running her fingers through her hair. "We've all been pretty busy lately."

"And how's my favorite couple this morning?" Jacqui asked loudly as she came into the kitchen, stretching her arms over her head. She's been living in the DE-Fly household ever since the Beach Ball games. She shares a room with Gen.

"Trying to get our hearing back" Tom joked, slapping his ear with his free hand. "So, how do you like living in Chez DE-Fly?"

"It's awesome" Jacqui replied with a smile as she sat down at the kitchen table next to Gen.

"She's just saying that because she thinks Harry's hot" Gen said and winced in pain when Jacqui punched her on the shoulder.

"Hey, don't be hurting my girl" Tom said and winked at Gen.

"Please, I could do without the mushy-gushy stuff in the morning" Rhuben muttered, stumbling into the room, half asleep.

"Don't worry about her, she's never that happy in the morning" Jacqui said waving her hand in the air.

"Bite me" Rhuben snapped, giving Jacqui a glare.

"See?" she asked, and giggled. Rhuben muttered under her breath as she pulled open the refrigerator and pulled out an orange. "What we doing today Tom?"

"Am I really the only person who knows what we're doing each day?" Tom asked, pausing with a hand full of chocolate chips.

"Yes" Gen replied, wedging her fingers into his closed hand and pulled out a few chocolate chips.

"Jake wants us to go over to his apartment later on and choose what cities we want to go to for our tour and what to do when we have some time off" Tom replied dropping the chocolate chips.

"Awesome" Rhuben replied as she started to peel the orange. "Harry, peel this for me."

Harry looked up as he came into the kitchen and quickly caught the orange before it hit him in the chest. "Because I _really_ need something thrown at me in the morning" he said sarcastically.

"I don't know, I think Jacqui is trying to make sure she doesn't throw herself at you" Rhuben replied with a wicked grin. She recoiled as an egg hit her in the face.

"Oops" Jacqui said sarcastically.

"Well, in _that_ case, I don't think it would be a bad thing" Harry said with a grin as he handed Rhuben her now peeled orange. "Think about it guys. Next week we'll be on tour."

"That's actually a scary thought" Rhuben muttered.

"How so?"

Everyone looked up as Danny came into the kitchen, stretching his arms over his head. He was only wearing jeans, which was hanging a little low so everyone could see the waist band of his boxers. But, that's not the reason why everyone was staring in his direction. Well, more like in Melanie's direction.

Melanie entered the kitchen shortly after him. Her hair was pulled up in a messy bun. But, the reason why everyone was staring at her was because a.) she spent the night at their house without their knowing and b.) she was wearing Danny's clothes.

"Um, because I've never gone on tour without, uh, my brother" Rhuben replied, her fingers pushed into her orange, orange juice sliding down her fingers. "Whatever his name is."

"Julius" Tom replied, still staring at Danny and Melanie.

"Right, right" Rhuben replied waving her hand. "How are you today, Melanie?"

"Kind of tired" Melanie replied with a small smile.

"You can blame me for that" Danny said with a wink and kissed her on the temple.

"Ew" Gen and Jacqui muttered under their breaths.

"Well, I should be getting ready to go" Melanie said sensing the tension in the air. With that, she turned around and headed out of the room.

"Light's up the room doesn't she?" Danny asked with a wide grin. Wordlessly, everyone went back to what they were doing.

"I'm going to check to see if my brothers are up" Rhuben said with her mouthful of orange.

She headed out of the kitchen and slowly made her way upstairs, still half asleep. She went to knock on her bedroom door when she noticed Patrick kneeling next to Danny's bedroom door, where the door was cracked open.

Patrick jumped when he noticed Rhuben walking over to him, an expressionless look on her face. He quickly got to his feet and gave her a sheepish grin.

"What are you doing?" she demanded.

"Honestly?" Patrick asked. Rhuben nodded. "Listening to Melanie's phone conversation."

"What have I said about eavesdropping?" Rhuben asked.

"How it's wrong and you can hear things that you shouldn't" Patrick replied, rocking on his heels.

"Right" Rhuben said and mussed Patrick's hair. "Now, what'd you hear?"

"Just a whole lot of 'I know's and 'No way's and high pitched laughter like this" Patrick said before making a face and making a high pitched laugh that sounded more like a pig squeal. Rhuben smirked and gave Patrick a hug.

"Go see if Noah is awake for me" she said and gently pushed him down the hall.

"Alright" Patrick said before racing down the hall, a mischievous grin on his face. Rhuben went to go check on Sydney when something Melanie said caught her attention.

"I know, I can't believe it either! I'm dating one of the hottest boys on the planet. Danny Jones. Even his _name_ gives me chills."

"Oh give me a break" Rhuben whispered, rolling her eyes.

"Of course I _don't_ actually like him. I'm just using him to get famous. There's been a couple of online news articles about us. You remember my dream about being a famous photographer? Yeah, well dating him is really helping."

Hearing enough, Rhuben loudly cleared her throat and headed into the room, kicking the door open. Melanie jumped and quickly hung up the phone before giving Rhuben a bright smile.

"What's up?" she asked.

"Don't give me that B.S." Rhuben snapped crossing her arms over her chest.

"Is something bothering you?" Melanie asked, widening her green eyes.

"I heard what you said on the phone" she replied, her eyes flashing.

"Heard what?" Melanie asked moving to pass her. Rhuben flung out her arm and pushed her back.

"You're using Danny" Rhuben replied rolling her eyes.

"So what?" Melanie asked giving Rhuben a glare. "It's not like you care."

"He's my friend" Rhuben snapped.

"But you want to be more" Melanie replied. "It's tearing you up inside about my dating him."

"Ha, why would I be jealous of you?" Rhuben demanded.

"Because I'm currently Danny's girlfriend" Melanie replied. "You had your chance with him. But, you blew it away."

"How dare you-"

"Hey, what's going on?" Danny asked, coming into his room. He looked back and forth from Rhuben to Melanie and back. "Am I missing something? Is something wrong?"

"No" Melanie replied, holding Rhuben's gaze. Rhuben gave her a long glare before turning and storming out of the room.

"What was that all about?" Danny asked, wrapping his arms around Melanie's waist.

"Who knows?" Melanie asked with a shrug. "She's crazy."

* * *

"Hey, Riles" Dougie greeted slowly as he entered her room.

"Yeah?" she asked, looking up from her skateboarding magazine.

"You want to go for a walk or something?" Dougie asked, sticking his hands into his jeans pockets. "You know, just to get out of the house."

"Sure" Riley said with a smile, setting her magazine aside. "Is something bothering you?"

"Why do you ask?" Dougie asked as the two of them headed down the stairs. They told Tom where they were going and headed out the front door.

"You've never been shy around me before" Riley replied, squinting her eyes. "I mean, when you told me you liked me you did. But, you've been acting less like yourself as the days go by."

"I'm just excited for the tour is all" Dougie replied with a shrug.

"You're lying" Riley said suddenly.

"How do you know?" Dougie asked, his eyes widening slightly.

"I can just tell" Riley replied with a sigh. "So, what's bothering you?"

"You've been . . . how should I put this?" Dougie asked, scratching his chin.

"What is it?" Riley asked arching her eyebrows.

"Are you sure you saw your dad?" Dougie asked suddenly.

"Why would I make up something like that?" Riley asked, her eyes flashing in annoyance. "I know what I saw."

"But, your dad was sent to jail months ago" Dougie said quietly.

"He can do anything, Dougs" Riley replied crossing her arms over his chest. "He's a really scary man, Dougie. Did I mention that he beat and my siblings?"

"That's why he's in jail" Dougie replied.

"Oh yeah" Riley replied with a small laugh. Dougie gave her a weird look before the two of them continued on walking in silence. Riley hummed a song under her breath.

"Are you feeling ok?" Dougie asked her.

"I'm peachy keen, jelly bean" Riley replied then started laughing. "Why do you ask?" Dougie stopped walking and gave her a hard stare. "What?"

"Um, nothing" he replied then continued walking.

"Dougie, wait!" Riley said grabbing onto his arm. He turned and looked at her, surprised to see a scared look on her face.

"What is it?" he asked. "What's wrong?"

"My dad" Riley whispered.

"What?" Dougie yelped and looked around. "Where? I don't see him?"

"He's over there" Riley said, pointing across the street with a shaky hand. "He's-he's staring at me." She wrapped her arms around him and pressed her face into his chest.

"You're really freaked out about this aren't you?" Dougie asked in a calming voice. "I don't see him, Riley. He's not over there." Riley pulled away from him, a glare set on her face.

"You think I'm crazy don't you?" she snapped. "Patrick does too! I bet all of you think I'm crazy!"

"Riles, have you been taking your Anticonvulsants?" Dougie demanded.

"Of course I have" Riley replied waving her hand.

"Riles!"

"No" Riley replied. "And don't yell at me."

"Why haven't you been taking them?" Dougie shouted, shaking her. "Answer me!"

"I don't like being the odd one" Riley shouted pushing away from him. She turned around and started walking back to the DE-Fly household. "You guys aren't crazy, I am."

"Just because you're bipolar you think you're crazy?" Dougie asked, rushing to catch up with her. "_That's_ crazy!"

"You don't have to take those pills" Riley muttered running her fingers through her hair.

"If you don't take your pills, then you can't control yourself" Dougie said putting a sympathetic hand on her shoulder. "Being bipolar isn't easy. But, you _have_ to keep taking your pills."

"Ok, ok" Riley said, an annoyed look crossing his face. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright" Dougie said, putting an arm around her shoulders and kissed her on top of the head. "Do you feel like continuing our walk?"

"Nah" Riley replied with a small smile. "I feel like hanging out with everyone else."

"Alright" Dougie replied leading her back to the house. He pushed open the front door and the two of them were met with shouting. Tom and Gen greeted the two of them at the front door.

"Don't tell me that's-"

"Yyyep" Gen interrupted with a nod.

"What are they arguing about _this_ time?" Dougie asked. Wordlessly, Tom and Gen showed them into the living room.

"Are you really that jealous of Melanie that you'd accuse her of using me" Danny shouted.

"I'm not accusing!" Rhuben shouted back. "I know! And I'm not jealous!"

"I beg to differ!" Danny snapped. "You've been jealous of her ever since you found out I was dating her."

"I'm not jealous her" Rhuben said through clenched teeth. "Why would I be jealous of her?!"

"Because it really bothers you that I'm dating her and _not you_" Danny shot back.

"Guys, please stop fighting" Jacqui said in a pleading tone as she shifted her arms around Sydney. Tears were sliding down his cheeks. Whenever someone started arguing, it made him cry.

"Please!" Rhuben said with a laugh. "Why would I want to date _you_!? You're conceded, perverted, and doesn't know when to stop talking about your self. Just get it through your thick head that she's using you!"

"Stop lying!" Danny snapped.

"_I'm not_" Rhuben shrieked.

"Whoa" Patrick and Noah whispered. They had never seen Rhuben that mad before.

"If you were actually my friend, then you'd believe me" Rhuben said balling her hands into fists at her sides.

"I believe that you're so shallow that you'd make up a story so Melanie and I will break up" Danny replied.

"What'd you just say?" Rhuben asked, her eyes widening.

"You heard me" Danny replied quietly, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Yeah, I guess I did" Rhuben replied just as quiet. She spun around on the heel of her foot and stormed towards the front door.

"Rhu-Rhu" Noah said racing after her and grabbing her hand. Rhuben turned towards him and gave him a small smile, cupping his cheek with her hand. Noah gave a small smile, closing his eyes and placing his free hand on top of hers.

"I'll be back in a little while" she said quietly. "I just want some time to think."

"You'll be ok?" he asked, widening his blue eyes.

"Yeah" she replied and gave him a kiss on the cheek before heading out the front door.

"Way to go Danny" Noah muttered, turning around.

"What'd _I _do?" Danny asked, widening his eyes.

"Why didn't you just listen to what she had to say before saying that she was wrong?" Patrick asked quietly.

"I've heard of an on/off relationship, but not an on/off friendship" Sydney muttered.

"With Danny and Rhuben, anything's possible" Harry said nervously.


	18. Chapter 18: Who I Get Advice From

**Chapter Eighteen**

_Who I Get Advice From_

"Shouldn't . . . shouldn't someone go after her?" Tom asked, running his fingers through his hair. Danny muttered curse words under his breath as he stormed out of the room. "Well, that rules out Danny."

"She said she'll be fine by herself" Gen said quietly. "She likes to be by herself when she gets upset about something."

"Normally she'd come to me" Noah piped up.

"Or me" Gen added.

"Or me" Jacqui said. "Sometimes she goes to Julius, but she always has to go take a walk and think things through first."

"She'll be fine, just give her some space" Riley said giving Tom a reassuring smile.

"I don't know, I feel funny about letting her walk alone at night" Tom replied biting his thumb,

"Always the responsible one" Harry said shaking his head, a small smile on his face.

"Dude, she'll be able to knock out any guy that tries getting with her" Dougie said with a small smile. "Actually, that would be interesting to watch."

"You guys! Think about how our performance on tour will be if they don't make up" Patrick pointed out, pushing his glasses up his nose with his finger.

"I think we need to force them to make up" Harry said snapping his fingers.

"How are we going to do that?" Jacqui asked.

"We could always do what we did when we first got here months ago, only bigger" Sydney piped up. Everyone stared at him. "We locked them in the closet last time remember?"

"Oh yeah" Dougie said a smile coming to his face as he thought of what happened. "That was funny,"

"So what are we going to do?" Gen asked. "If this is another way to get them together, then I'm behind you 100 percent." Patrick, Noah, and Sydney exchanged glances.

"Two words" Patrick and Noah replied in unison.

"Hand cuffs" Sydney replied with his dimpled smile.

"You want to _hand cuff _them together?" Tom asked, his eyes widening.

"Exactly" the Jackson boys replied in unison, raising their eyebrows. "So? What do you think?"

"I like it" Riley replied, her eyes flashing in amusement.

"I don't know about this, guys" Harry said slowly. "You know how mad Rhuben can get. We'll probably be down a guitarist by the first five minutes."

"Eh, you _know_ that would be entertaining" Dougie said waving his hand.

"So are we all agreed?" Sydney asked. "Are we going to do it?"

"Why can't we just leave them alone?" Tom asked almost in a whine.

"This is more fun, you _know_ it is" Jacqui replied with a grin. Tom sighed heavily and rolled his eyes.

"Who's got the hand cuffs?" he asked in a monotone.

* * *

Rhuben kicked an empty soda can across the sidewalk and into the street, sighing heavily.

"_Stupid_ Danny Jones and his _stupid_ girlfriend" she muttered under his breath.

"I take it something stupid is bothering you?" a voice asked with a small laugh.

"Oh, hey Matt" Rhuben muttered, glancing up as Matt Willis walked up to her, carrying a bag in his hands.

"Something bothering you?" Matt asked tilting his head. "What are you doing out at this time of night?"

"What are _you_ doing out here at this time of night?" Rhuben asked weakly.

"Oh come on, you can think of a better come back than _that_" Matt replied crossing his arms over his chest.

"I guess I'm not in the mood, Matt" Rhuben replied with a shrug.

"So something _is_ bothering you" Matt said raising his eyebrows. He motioned for Rhuben to follow him as he started down the sidewalk. Wordlessly, Rhuben followed him. "You never told me why you were out here."

"Just walking" Rhuben replied with a shrug. "I wanted to clear my head; get some fresh air."

"You planning on going straight home?" Matt asked.

"Not really" Rhuben replied.

"Wanna head over to the 'Busted Mansion"?" Matt asked using air quotes. "I just picked up some ice cream for me and my mates."

"I was just about to ask that actually" Rhuben replied, shoving her hands into her jeans pockets. "I need some advice."

"Then you've come to the right guy" Matt replied with a grin. "Charlie is the best out of all of us to get advice from."

"You sure you don't mind?" Rhuben asked.

"You look like you really need it" Matt replied shifting his bag to his right hand and put his left arm across her shoulders. "You can have some of the ice cream I bought if that'll help."

"Thanks, Matt" Rhuben replied, leaning into his embrace.

"No problem" Matt replied with a smile. "You look like you need it."

The two of them continued walking in silence. Matt lead the way to the Busted house hold. He pulled his keys out of his pocket and unlocked the front door.

"Guys, I'm back" he called as she stepped into the foyer, closing the door behind him and Rhuben.

"It's about time" James' voice called out.

"Yeah, matage, we've been on chocolate fudge ice cream withdrawal" Charlie added from somewhere in the house.

"We have company" Matt said as he headed into the kitchen, setting down his bag of ice cream. Rhuben gave a small smile as James and Charlie entered the kitchen.

"Hey guys" Rhuben said with a small wave.

"Hey" James and Charlie replied with a polite nod. "What brings you to the Busted household?"

"Just wanted some fresh air" Rhuben replied with a shrug. "I bumped into Matt while I was out."

"Is something bothering you?" Charlie asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Am I that easy to read?" Rhuben asked, arching an eyebrow.

"You seem bummed" James pointed out bouncing on his toes as Matt pulled out four bowls and spoons before opening the lid of the ice cream container.

"I just want some advice" Rhuben replied with a sigh and a shrug.

"Ah, then you've come to the right place" James said slapping Charlie on the back.

"Um, how about we get some ice cream then go into the living room to talk?" Charlie suggested.

"That's fine" Rhuben replied before taking the bowl of ice cream that Matt handed to her. "Thanks, dude."

"No problem" Matt replied giving her a small smile.

"Come on, then" Charlie said after he took his bowl of ice cream from Matt. He placed his hand on the small of Rhuben's back and gently guided her into the living room. "So, what's bothering you?"

"You want the long story or the short one?" Rhuben asked dryly, staring at the bowl in her hands.

"Whichever" Charlie replied with a shrug. "I'm a good listener."

"Well, I guess I'd have to say that the long story would start from when we first moved in with McFly" Rhuben replied, stirring her ice cream with her spoon. Charlie let out a low whistle. "Yeah, I know."

"How did you guys meet anyway?" Charlie asked.

"Oh, well, my siblings and I were doing a mall performance and they happened to be at the mall that day" Rhuben replied brushing her hair out of her face. "Jake came over to us after we finished _Don't Stop Me Now_ and asked if we wanted to work with them. Why?"

"That's just been bothering me for a while" Charlie replied with a shrug. "Go on."

"Well, Danny and I didn't hit if off, like, at all" Rhuben continued.

"That doesn't surprise me" Charlie muttered.

"Seriously" Rhuben replied with a small laugh. She paused in her story and spooned a large portion of ice cream into her mouth.

* * *

"What are you still doing up?" Jacqui asked with a small laugh as she entered the living room.

"Noah wanted to wait up for Rhuben" Harry replied with a small smile. Noah was asleep with his head resting on a pillow in Harry's lap. He was curled up into a ball, snoring softly. "He fell asleep a good ten minutes ago."

"He's not used to staying up so late" Jacqui said as she sat down on the couch beside him. "He kicks in his sleep too."

"That explains the bruise on my hip" Harry said dryly. "What are you still doing up?"

"Can't sleep" Jacqui replied stretching her arms over her head. "I have a lot on my mind."

"Like what?" Harry asked as Noah rolled over in his sleep. He caught him before he rolled off the couch.

"Danny and Rhuben arguing, the tour that's coming up, what I'm going to get Riles and Rhu for their birthday, stuff like that" Jacqui replied.

"Do you think they're ever going to be friends again?" Harry asked.

"I know they want to be more than friends" Jacqui replied slowly. "I can tell by the way Danny looks at her. But, I think the reason he isn't trying to go for her is because he knows that she's still trying to get over everything with her dad and because of her fear, she's oblivious to what she's feeling."

"Yeah, I get what you mean" Harry said. Silence fell over the two of them before Harry started laughing.

"What?" Jacqui asked.

"I just thought of how they're going to act towards each other if they're hand cuffed together" Harry replied with a smile.

"That'll be really interesting to watch" Jacqui said with a sigh.

"I was thinking-"

"That's a start" Jacqui interrupted. She grinned sheepishly when Harry gave her a hard stare. "Sorry, had to say it."

"You wanna go looking for a present for Riley and Rhuben with me?" Harry asked. Jacqui pressed her lips together to stop herself from screaming out loud.

"That would be awesome" she replied quietly.

"And we should hang out during our free time during the tour too" Harry suggested. "I mean, if you want to."

"Yes, I do" Jacqui replied with a series of nods.

"Wicked" Harry replied giving her a charming smile.

The two of them looked towards the front door as it opened. Noah stirred in his sleep and sat up rubbing his eyes. He glanced at the front door and slipped off the couch, padding over to Rhuben as she closed and locked the front door behind her.

"Aren't you supposed to be asleep?" she asked with a small laugh as she lifted him into her arms.

"I wanted to make sure you were ok" Noah replied with a yawn as she carried him towards the stairs.

"I'm fine" Rhuben replied. "I met up with Matt while I was walking around, so I stayed at the Busted household for a while."

"Feeling better?" Jacqui asked as she and Harry got up off the couch.

"Somewhat" Rhuben replied with a shrug. " I got some advice that I needed." She then turned to Noah. "But, now you need to get some sleep."

"Ok" Noah said with a whine as Rhuben carried him up the stairs. Quietly, she set him down on his bed and pulled the blankets up to his chin. "I love you."

"Love you too" Rhuben replied with a small smile kissing him on the forehead. "I'll be right back. I need to talk to Danny for a minute."

"Leave the lamp on?" Noah asked in a quiet voice. "Until you get back, I mean."

"Of course" Rhuben replied turning on the lamp before heading out of the room.

She tiptoed down the hall and stood in front of Danny's door. A sliver of light shone underneath the door so she knew he was still awake. Letting out a big breath, she knocked on the door.

"Go away" Danny called out. Rolling her eyes, Rhuben opened the door and headed into the room. She quietly closed the door behind her and sat down next to Danny on his bed. "I don't want to talk to you."

"You don't have to say anything" Rhuben said quietly. Danny let out a sigh and kicked over his guitar that was leaning against his bed.

"Don't say 'I told you so'" he muttered.

"I wouldn't dream of it" Rhuben replied putting her arm across his shoulders. She let out a small sigh and rested her head on his shoulder. He rested his on top of hers, staring at his bedroom wall.


	19. Chapter 19: Kiss in the Rain

**A/N: Hey you guys. Sorry for the lack of updates. But, since this is the last day I have to update, I'm making this chapter a long one **_**and**_** it's centered on the DannyxRhuben pairing. **

**A/N2: Oh yeah, and we have also found a DarkElements fan site. It was made recently so there's not a lot of people on it. But, if you love the DarkElements, then go here: w w w . d a r k - e l e m e n t s . d a r k b b . c o m (but without the spaces)**

* * *

**Chapter Nineteen**

_Kiss in the Rain_

"Hey, Danny?" Rhuben asked quietly.

"Yeah?" Danny asked letting out a heavy sigh.

"How'd you find out?" Rhuben said as she started to run her fingers through Danny's hair. He let out a sigh and punched his thigh.

"How'd I find out she was using me?" he asked through clenched teeth. Rhuben nodded in reply and he let out another sigh.

"Take your time" Rhuben muttered.

"After you left, I called her, asking if she would meet me at the park. I didn't arrive there right away, because I didn't know what she was going to tell me" Danny explained after a moment of silence. "I didn't know if she was going to lie or not. So, I decided to walk around for a while. When I finally got there, I heard her talking on the phone and I heard her say it to who ever she was talking to."

"Ouch" Rhuben winced making a face.

"But, it was after I broke up with her that I realized I wasn't truly happy with her" Danny said, sitting up. Rhuben pulled her fingers out of his hair and turned to face him.

"Well, who would you be happy with?" Rhuben asked, giving him a confused look. Danny laughed lightly in reply. "What?"

"I'm surprised you haven't figured it out yet" he said giving her a wide smile. He cupped her cheek with his hand, and gently rubbed his thumb back and forth. "I'd be happier with you."

"I don't know what to say" Rhuben said quietly, bowing her head.

"Take your time, it'll come to you" Danny replied, getting entertainment out of her embarrassment. "I'm sorry."

"About your quickly shooting down what I had to say about Melanie?" Rhuben asked a sharp edge to her tone. "You should be."

It was Danny's turn to hang his head in embarrassment. "I have a hard time thinking about what's right and wrong when it has to do with a fit girl" he said.

"Trust me, I noticed" Rhuben replied dryly, although she had a smirk on her face.

"Hey, that's not nice" Danny said as he gently pushed her. Rhuben gave a small smile and shook her head. "Ah, there's the smile I was looking for."

"Shut up" Rhuben replied weakly.

"Why don't you like to smile?" Danny asked tilting his head to the side.

"Smiling was something I did a lot _before_ I turned nine" Rhuben replied with a heavy sigh. "I guess you could say my life pretty much went downhill then. But, it's better now."

"Because I'm in it?" Danny asked, raising his eyebrows.

"You could say that" Rhuben replied saying each word slowly.

"You know I'm right" Danny said grinning gleefully. "I'm _so_ right."

"Whatever" Rhuben said weakly.

"Come on, just admit it" Danny said rolling his eyes. "Your life wouldn't be half as interesting as it is now without me in it."

"It wouldn't be half as interesting without you, Dougie, Tom, or Harry" Rhuben repeated.

"Fair enough" Danny said with a grin.

"Feeling better?" Rhuben asked jumping topics, twisting her hands in her lap. Danny took her hands in his and forced her to look up at him.

"I am now" he replied quietly. "Thanks, Rhu."

"No problem" Rhuben replied tucking her lock of purple hair behind her ear and gave a short nod. "And would you stop doing that?"

"Doing what?" Danny asked raising his eyebrows.

"You're always so . . . sweet towards me" Rhuben replied with a sigh. "Besides the fact that you're perverted at other times."

"Yeah, but you love that about me" Danny replied with a grin. "I can tell by the look in your eyes." Wordlessly, Rhuben leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. "What was that for?"

"You're the sweetest guy I've ever met. I've gone out with a lot of jerks and I didn't think I'd ever find a guy like you" Rhuben replied.

"What about Charlie?" Danny asked.

"What about him?" Rhuben asked raising her eyebrows.

"He told me you guys almost kissed" Danny replied. "At the beach, and then he called before you got back home, saying you almost kissed there."

"Charlie and I are close friends" Rhuben replied, choosing her words carefully. "Even though we've only known each other for a short period of time. I feel as if I can tell him anything. That's it, he understands how I feel about you."

"How do you feel about me?" Danny asked.

"We're friends aren't we?" Rhuben asked.

"Yeah, but I want to be more than friends" Danny replied, after a second of silence. Rhuben opened her mouth to talk, but Danny kept going. "I know that you have a lot of things going on, like the tour, and trying to cope with everything your dad did, but I swear, if you give me a chance, I promise, I'll be there for you when you need me. I promise nothing will happen to you."

"Thanks" Rhuben said with a genuine smile. "For everything. I mean it." Danny tucked her hair behind her ears and rested her forehead against hers and smiled.

"No problem, sweetie" he replied with a grin.

"Way to kill a moment' Rhuben said sarcastically, pulling away from him.

"Want to go on a walk?" Danny asked getting to his feet. "You know, to clear our minds?"

"It's nearly eleven thirty" Rhuben said giving him an 'Are-you-crazy' look.

"Well, I can't get any sleep now, I'm wide awake" Danny said with a shrug as he grabbed his coat. "Are you coming?"

"Lead the way" Rhuben replied with a smile as she got off his bed.

"Oh yeah, that scalp massaging thing feels really good" Danny said with a grin as they headed down the stairs.

"Oh yeah, I used to do that to Noah and Sydney a lot when they were younger" Rhuben said with a small laugh. "It helped them stop crying and get to sleep."

"Interesting" Danny said with a shrug as they left the house and headed down the street.

"Anywhere in particular you want to go to?" Rhuben asked, shoving her hands into her jeans pockets.

"Nah, I just feel like walking" Danny replied brushing his straight hair out of his eyes. Rhuben nodded and the two of them continued on in silence. Danny occasionally glanced over at Rhuben and saw that she had a thoughtful look on her face. "What are you thinking about?"

"You" Rhuben replied shortly. Danny blinked, surprised about what she just said.

"Good things I hope" Danny replied slowly.

"Remember our first night back here?" Rhuben asked, kicking at a rock.

"Of course" Danny replied.

"Well, remember that kiss we had after the dessert fight?" Rhuben went on.

"Yeah" Danny said slowly.

"Did you feel anything?" Rhuben asked. "When we kissed I mean."

"Of course" Danny replied as he stopped walking. Rhuben turned to face him. "Rhu, you don't know how long I've been waiting to get a kiss like that from you."

Rhuben blushed and gave a shy smile in reply. "I swear, Rhu, I've been in love with you ever since I first laid eyes on you" Danny said his voice barely above a whisper. He then continued on walking as if nothing ever happened. Rhuben stared in shock, before running after him.

"Danny, that was really sweet" Rhuben said grabbing onto his arm.

"Is there any way that you could love me back?" Danny asked looking around, a small smile on his face. "You want to play a game?"

"Like what?" Rhuben asked, giving him a confused look.

"Kiss the Rain" Danny replied after a moment of silence.

"Kiss the Rain?" Rhuben chuckled. "What does that mean?"

"Kiss...the Rain" Danny said, giving her a grin, looking around again.

Rhuben did too and realized that they were in the park. She winced as the sprinklers suddenly came on. He grinned at her and ran into the middle of the park, spinning and laughing. Laughing at what he was doing, Rhuben decided to run out and join him in the insanity.

Danny grabbed onto her hands and they spun in a circle, laughing in delight. He then wrapped an arm around her waist and they danced through the sprinklers, not caring that they were getting really wet.

"What exactly is kiss the rain?" she finally managed to speak after the laughter died out.

"I don't know" Danny said with a smile. He sighed and leaned his face up to the sky. The sprinkler water shot up in a giant arc; water ran down his face and mingled with his chestnut hair, making it look so dark brown it was almost black. "I supose..." He blinked away the tear-like formations from his eyes as they opened. "It's something..." His fingers then reached out towards Rhuben's face, grazing her lips that were coated in droplets of water. "Like this."

He leaned in slowly, then, his lips touched hers ever so gently, giving her the most tender kiss of her life. They stayed like that, kissing under the sprinklers. She moved her lips over his, opening them slightly. Heat shimmered as his tongue slid into her warm awaiting mouth. She felt her nails involuntarily dig into his back.

It was awkward at first, their mouths running over one another's in an odd fashion, but after a few minutes it becomes smoother, almost natural. The water from the sprinklers slipped over their conjoined lips and drenching their bodies. Danny's hands slipped over her wet clothing down to her hips and dragged her against him. Danny surprised Rhuben by keeping the kiss soft, tender and achingly, sweet.

He finally pulled away, still cradling her head in his hands. Rhuben slowly opened her eyes and let out a breath of air. "Whoa" she whispered, a smile crossing her face.

'Yeah" Danny replied lightly touching his lips. "That was the best kiss I've ever had." Rhuben turned her head away, blushing furiously. "Don't be embarrassed, I liked it."

"Good" Rhuben replied quietly. "Because, you were my first kiss. I mean, back with the dessert thing."

"But, you've gone out with plenty of guys" Danny said a confused look crossing his face. "When we played that 'Game of Truths' back when you first arrived, I thought you were kidding."

"Like I said, I've gone out with a lot of jerks" Rhuben replied. "But, the most I got from them was a kiss on the cheek."

"Wow" Danny said a surprised look sliding onto his face. Then he gave her a warm smile. "So, does that mean we're together?"

"Finally" Rhuben replied standing on her tiptoes, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

* * *

**A/N 3: ****Ok guys, that's probably the moment you've all be waiting for! For those of you who love the pairing, CharliexRhuben, Riley and I have decided that every other story we have with Busted in it, the pairing will be either DannyxRhuben, DougiexRiley, or CharliexRhuben, and JamesxRiley. Anyway, I won't be able to update until July because I'm returning my computer to my school. Sorry, but I hope you can wait that long.**


	20. Chapter 20: Shoplifting

**Chapter Twenty**

_Shoplifting _

Danny and Rhuben were on their way back home. They were walking hand in hand, occasionally glancing at each other, and smiling whenever they caught the other person's eye.

"You're wrong you know" Danny suddenly said.

"About what?" Rhuben asked, startled.

"You said the first time I kissed you was after that whipped cream fight" Danny replied. "You're wrong. The first time I kissed you was shortly before we found out you were abused."

"Oh whatever" Rhuben replied, waving her hand. "Were you thinking about that the whole time?"

"Amongst other things" Danny replied under his breath. "Look. I'm sorry about Melanie. I was dating her to try and forget about you."

"Forget about me?" Rhuben asked, raising her eyebrows.

"We weren't on good terms when you left" Danny explained. "I tried calling you but I didn't know what I'd say to you if you _did_ answer the phone. I was dating Melanie to get you off my mind."

"I don't know what to say" Rhuben replied slowly.

"You don't have to say anything" Danny replied and kissed her on the temple. "I'm with you and that's all that matters."

"Is something bothering you?" Rhuben asked, scrutinizing him.

"No" Danny replied quickly. Rhuben continued to stare at him. "Just wondering what I'm going to get you for your birthday."

"Right" Rhuben replied slowly.

"Is something bothering you?" Danny asked. "You seem kind of . . . out there."

"I'm fine" Rhuben replied. "Just can't wait for the tour. Or my birthday."

* * *

"Morning guys" Tom said the next morning as Gen and Jacqui entered the kitchen. Riley and Rhuben were already sitting at the kitchen table, using Sydney's laptop.

"Morning" Gen chirped and kissed Tom on the cheek.

"So, where were you last night?" Jacqui asked, sitting down beside Rhuben.

"What are you talking about?" Riley and Rhuben asked in unison, not bothering to look up from the computer screen.

"I'm talking about Rhuben" Jacqui replied closing the computer.

"Hey" the twin girls protested in unison.

"Yeah, Rhuben, where were you last night?" Gen repeated for Jacqui, giving Rhuben a smile.

"Is this some girl talk that I don't want to hear?" Tom asked. "Because if it is, I'll stop making breakfast and leave you guys alone."

"That's probably what it is mate" Danny said as he came into the kitchen, stretching his arms over his head. He walked over to Rhuben and kissed her on the cheek. "Morning, love."

"Hey" Rhuben replied, ignoring the shocked looks on her friends' faces. "How'd you sleep?"

"Alright" Danny replied grabbing the milk carton from the refrigerator. He tilted his head back and drank straight from the carton.

"I was going to use that" Tom said turning to Danny. Danny's cheeks were puffed out from the milk. He looked at Tom to the milk carton and back. He shrugged and moved his mouth back to the carton. Tom quickly grabbed the carton. "Don't even think about it."

"Did I miss something?" Riley asked her twin sister.

"Yeah, when did you two get together?" Jacqui asked glancing at Danny.

"Hm, let me guess" Gen said pretending to think. "Probably around the time they weren't at home."

"And what were you two doing out late by yourselves?" Tom asked in a mock stern tone.

"Do you really want to know mate?" Danny asked, giving his friend a grin.

"Eh, not really" Tom replied. "Come on, mate. Let's leave the girls alone so they can talk."

"Alright" Danny replied letting out a loud burp and following Tom out of the kitchen.

"So, what happened?" Riley asked turning to Rhuben. She slumped in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest.

"We went out for a walk, went to the park, the sprinklers turned on, we kissed, we talked, we walked home" Rhuben replied in a monotone.

"Is something wrong?" Gen asked.

"Yeah, I mean, I figured you'd be happy that you've gotten together with Danny" Jacqui added.

"I am" Rhuben replied. Riley, Gen, and Jacqui exchanged glances. "_Really_! I just can't help but feel that he's keeping something from me. I mean, he's hurt me so many times-"

"I think you're just worried that he's going to hurt you again" Gen interrupted her. "I mean, he _has_ done that so many times, but he's probably just nervous."

"I don't know" Rhuben said with a sigh. "I mean, I've waited this long for Danny to like me back, but I'm not sure if I like the idea of having him as my boyfriend. Maybe we're just only meant to be friends."

"Is there someone else you like?" Riley asked.

"Well" Rhuben replied slowly. "When I went over to Charlie's place, we kinda . . . kissed?"

"_What_?!" Gen, Jacqui, and Riley yelled.

"Do I even want to know?" Harry asked, his hands over his ears.

"No, just girl stuff" Jacqui replied quickly.

"Bras and periods" Riley added.

"And boobs" Gen said with a nod.

"Stuff like that" Rhuben said forcing a grin.

"Ok, then" Harry said giving the four of them a weird look. "Just be glad Dougie's not in here. He'd be happy to talk to you about boobs."

"That's great to know" Riley said arching an eyebrow.

"Jacqui, are we still going to-"

"Yes, we are" Jacqui interrupted him, giving him a pointed stare. Harry nodded, grabbing an apple out of the fruit basket and taking a large bite out of it.

"Alright" he said with his mouth full. "I'll go change then we can go." Jacqui gave a short nod and watched Harry leave.

"What was _that_ all about?" Gen asked.

"He almost gave away what we're getting Riles and Rhu for their birthday" Jacqui replied, rolling her eyes.

"I can't wait" Riles said with a grin. "In only three months, we'll be able to get our license."

"And _I _still have to wait" Jacqui said and pouted.

"Back to the topic at hand" Gen said tapping the table. "You and Charlie kissed?"

"Actually, we kind of made out" she replied, biting her lower lip. Riley let out a low whistle.

"How was it?" Jacqui asked. Gen elbowed her in the side. "Ow, what? I was just asking."

"Do you have to know every juicy detail about their love lives?" Gen asked.

"Yes" Jacqui replied shortly.

"Yeah, same here" Gen quickly agreed. "Did you like it?"

"Yes" Rhuben admitted with a small smile. "Charlie's really sweet and he's a good listener. I know he won't hurt me, so I can't help but be attracted to him."

"Well, he _is_ fit" Jacqui replied with a grin. "And his voice is sexy, and-"

"Stick with one guy, dude" Riley said with a smirk.

"Look, if you really feel that way, then you have to tell him" Gen said pulling her hair up into a pony tail. "Tell Danny you feel that you can only be friends and tell Charlie how you feel about him."

"You're going to have to tell him sooner or later" Riley added.

"Hopefully later than sooner" Rhuben said in a monotone. She smiled as Patrick and Noah came into the kitchen. "Morning guys."

"Heyyy" they greeted in unison.

"What's going on?" Gen asked.

"Can you guys take us to the park?" they asked in unison.

"Can't someone else take you?" Riley asked.

"We'd take Sydney but he's too busy working on new music" Patrick replied.

"Dougie is too busy working on the bass line to McFly's song We're The Young" Noah added.

"Danny is helping Dougie."

"And Tom is spending the day with Gen."

"Ri-Ri, Rhu-Rhu, could you take us?" Noah asked, widening his eyes.

"Sorry, I'm spending the day with Charlie" Rhuben replied.

"Yeah, and James, Matt, and I are meeting to talk about where we want to go on tour the days we have off" Riley added. "I'm sure Jacqui could take you."

"Harry and I are going to the mall to shop for your birthday gifts" Jacqui replied. Seeing the sad looks on their faces she quickly continued. "Would you guys like to come with us?"

"Sure" they replied in unison, then hugged her. "Thanks, Jacqui."

"No problem" Jacqui replied as they rushed out of the room.

* * *

"Is there any specific place you want to go?" Jacqui asked Harry once the four of them entered the mall.

"What _are_ you getting Riley and Rhuben anyway?" Patrick asked.

"We'll tell you as long as you don't tell anyone else" Harry replied turning to them. He, Jacqui, and Noah stared pointedly at Patrick. He widened his blue eyes in innocence. "Stealing Sydney's move won't work."

"It was worth a shot" Patrick said with a shrug. "I swear, I won't tell."

"Ok" Jacqui replied looking around. "We're giving them a photo album filled with all of the pictures we've took since we met them. McFly and Busted are in it too."

"That's a great idea" Noah said with a smile.

"Too bad we didn't think of it" Patrick said snapping his fingers.

"We don't know what we're giving them, yet" Noah added.

"I'm sure you'll think of something" Harry said giving them a small smile.

"Hey look over there," Jacqui said heading towards the skate shop. "They have new skate wheels in. Maybe we can get some for Riley."

"We'll meet you at the food court in an hour ok?" Harry asked as Jacqui grabbed his hand and pulled him along.

"Yeah, fine" Patrick muttered. "Is it just me or are we being ignored lately?"

"It's not just you" Noah said with a sigh. Patrick put his arm across Noah's shoulders.

"It's alright bro" he said with a smile, guiding him towards the CD store. "We're perfectly fine with each other." Noah nodded and gave him a smile.

* * *

Harry and Jacqui were sitting at a table in the food court, waiting for Patrick and Noah to join them. Harry looked at his watch for the umpteenth time and Jacqui was busy eating chilli cheese fries.

"They should've been here twenty minutes ago" Harry commented. "You're not worried about them?"

"No" Jacqui replied. "As long as they're together they're fine."

"I don't know" Harry replied slowly. "They seem kind of . . . off. They're not as hyper as they usually are."

"You do know that this is their first tour where Julius isn't with them?" Jacqui asked, looking at him.

"You think its just because they miss him?" Harry asked.

"Have you seen all six of them together?" Jacqui asked with a small laugh. "They're really close and really happy. It's hard for them being somewhere without him."

"Alright, I guess" Harry replied, still unsure. "But, I'm still not sure."

"_After them!_"

"_Thief!_"

"_Stop them_!"

Patrick and Noah ran over to Harry and Jacqui's table, panting heavily and slid into their booth. Patrick looked around as Noah sunk low in his seat.

"Something wrong?" Harry asked.

"N-no" Patrick replied. "Why'd you think anything's wrong?"

"Are those sodas for us?" Noah asked, nodding towards the cups on the table.

"Yeah, root beer" Jacqui replied, raising an eyebrow.

"Thanks" Patrick and Noah gasped, and took off the top, pulling out the straw. They quickly drained their cups of soda and let out an 'Ahhhh.'

"_Excuse me_."

The four of them looked up into the eyes of a mall cop. He had thick eyebrows and a thick mustache. He was glaring at Patrick and Noah.

"Can I help you?" Harry asked.

"My name is Officer Stone" the man replied. "I believe these two boys stole something from the skate shop."

"What?" Jacqui gasped.

"We didn't steal anything" Patrick said shaking his head. He kicked Noah's shin under the table.

"We haven't even been in the skate shop" he added.

"Is that so?" Officer Stone asked, grabbing onto Patrick and Noah's sweatshirt hoods and lifted them out of their seats.

"Hey" Harry said getting to his feet. "You can't treat people like that."

"They said they didn't steal anything" Jacqui added. Wordlessly, Officer Stone pulled Patrick and Noah's hands out of their pockets and a pack of skateboard wheels and wrist guards fell out of their pockets.

"Mhm" Officer Stone said as he picked up the items.

"Patrick? Noah?" Harry asked quietly.

"Did you steal these?" Jacqui asked. Patrick and Noah exchanged glances and bowed their heads.

* * *

"I'm _very_ disappointed in you" Jake said pacing back and forth in front of Patrick and Noah. They were back at the DE-Fly house, sitting on the couch, staring at their feet.

"Sorry" they muttered in unison.

"Sorry? _Sorry_?" Jake asked an annoyed look crossing his face. "Do you know how hard it's going to be to keep this out of the media?"

"Sorry."

"Jake, don't be too hard on them" Rhuben said quietly.

"You won't get any answers if you keep yelling at them" Riley added.

"We're sorry, Jake" Patrick said looking up at him. "_Really_. We didn't mean to do it."

"But you _did_" Jake said with a sigh, sitting down on the coffee table. "Why did you guys steal in the first place?" Patrick muttered something under his breath. Noah played with the fray on his jeans. None of them wanted to look at Jake or their sisters.

"What'd you say?" Riley asked.

"He said we wanted attention from you guys" Noah said quietly.

"What do you mean?" Rhuben asked. "We give you guys attention."

"No you don't" Patrick suddenly snapped. "Everyone's busy with other people or their own things and have been leaving us out."

"You guys haven't been paying attention to us at all" Noah added. "We wanted someone to pay attention to us. So, we stole that stuff." Jake blinked in surprise.

"I-I didn't realize" he whispered.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Riley asked.

"When did you have time to listen to us?" Noah shot back.

"Fair point" Rhuben muttered. "We're sorry."

"Yeah, sorry" Riley added. She looked over at Rhuben and she nodded. "Tell you what, just because you feel so left out, we'll give _you guys_ a present on our birthday." Patrick and Noah grinned in reply and gave their sisters a hug.

"Oh, and word of advice" Riley said turning to Jake. "Leave the parenting to us."

"Yeah, I don't think you've gotten the hang of it yet" Rhuben added with a smirk.

"But, I will soon" Jake replied before leaving the living room. Riley, Rhuben, Patrick, and Noah exchanged confused glances. . .


	21. Chapter 21: Birthday Surprises

**Chapter Twenty-One**

_Birthday Surprises_

_Beep!_

_Beep! _

_Beep!_

Tom let out a groan and pressed his hands over his ears, trying to block out the annoying sound. With every loud beep, the sound got closer and closer to his ears. He let out a heavy sigh and buried his head under his pillow.

"Tom, get up."

"Go. Away."

"I'll jump on you."

"No, you won-_ow_!" Tom yelled as a heavy object collided into his back. He winced in pain when something pressed into his kidneys. "Alright, alright, I'm up."

Tom sat up and rolled onto his back and peered up at Sydney. He was sitting Indian style on his stomach, staring intently at him with his big blue eyes. He ran his hands over his face then grabbed the clock out of Sydney's hands, stopping the alarm. He slowly turned it around and glanced at the clock face, then up at Sydney.

"What?" the small boy asked, widening his eyes.

"Is there a _good reason_ you woke me up at four in the morning?" he asked in a monotone.

"Our tour starts today," Sydney replied. "We're supposed to meet Jake at the recording studio in an hour and you know how long it takes Dougie to get moving."

"Oh, right," Tom said stretching his arms over his head, and let out a big yawn. "Go wake everyone else up for me."

"Ok," Sydney said and slid off of Tom's bed and skipped out the door, humming happily.

Tom jumped as the telephone rang. Staring up at the ceiling, he reached over and pulled it off the cradle, holding it up to his ear.

"Hello?"

"_Hey, Tom. It's me_."

"Hey, Jake. What's going on?"

"_I was just checking to see if you guys were awake yet_."

"Sydney is waking everyone up now as we speak. We'll be down at the studio in an hour . . . maybe more if we can't get Dougie away from the refrigerator."

"_Alright, I'll see you here_."

"Bye, mate," Tom said and hung up the phone. He let out a sigh and got out of bed. Quickly, he changed into jeans, a t-shirt, and a beanie before grabbing his and Sydney's bags and headed down into the living room. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm not driving to the recording studio."

"One of us has too," Riley said from the floor. She was using her bag as a pillow.

"Why can't you drive?" Tom asked her.

"Rhu and I don't have our permits yet," Riley replied and stuck her tongue out at him.

"And I don't have my license," Dougie said lying down, resting his head on her stomach. Riley gave a faint smile and ran her fingers through his hair.

"We already agreed that Danny shouldn't drive because he'll crash the car," Rhuben said with a smirk. "Because he'll be too busy 'scoping out chicks' to pay attention."

"You never had a problem with driving us around before," Rhuben said, half asleep on the couch.

"I never had kidney pain before either," Tom shot back. "I'm not good with driving when I'm sleepy."

"Relax hun, I'll drive-" Gen said swinging her car keys around her index finger. Jacqui, Patrick, Noah, and Sydney followed her into the living room.

"Thanks," Tom said with a sigh of relief.

"My car with Jacqui and the Jackson," Gen concluded with a sheepish grin. She kissed Tom on the cheek when he put his face in his hands and let out a loud groan.

"Relax Tom, I'll drive," Harry said getting to his feet. "I'm just surprised Dougie was down here in record time."

"Don't be," Riley said dryly, prodding Dougie in the back. He had fallen asleep while waiting to leave. "Drool on my stomach and I'll kill you."

"Come on, let's get going," Tom said grabbing his bag.

"We're going on tour, we're going on tour," Patrick and Noah started singing.

"If I knew we had to wake up _this early_ I wouldn't have agreed to it," Riley said as she and Danny helped Dougie to his feet. "Wake up, Poynter."

"Dougie, if you wake up right now, I'll buy you a powdered sugar doughnut," Rhuben said.

"Cool, I want it jelly filled," Dougie said opening his eyes. Riley shook her head and pushed him out the door.

"Something wrong?" Danny asked, placing a hand on Rhuben's shoulder.

"Just tired," Rhuben replied with a sigh.

"If you say so," Danny said with a shrug as he headed out the front door. "Happy early birthday by the way."

"Yeah, just one more day and I'll finally be sixteen," Rhuben said with a smile, then her smile slowly faded.

"Are you sure nothing's bothering you?" Danny asked.

"I'm fine," Rhuben said annoyed. "Nothing's bothering me, ok?" With that, she brushed by him, hurried down the stairs and put her bag into Gen's trunk before climbing into her car.

"Ok," Danny said slowly, shaking his head. He let out a heavy sigh and followed Tom to his car.

"Something wrong, mate?" Harry asked him.

"Eh, nothing," Danny said shaking his head. "I'm fine."

* * *

"Guys we're here," Gen said pulling her car keys out of the ignition. She blinked when she heard a chorus of snores in reply. Making a face, she slammed her hand on the horn, jolting everyone awake.

"I didn't do it," Riley and Rhuben muttered, shooting up in their seats.

"Whasgoingon?" Patrick asked sliding his glasses onto his face.

"We're here, the bus is waiting for us," Gen said opening the driver's seat door and got out of the car.

"How are we going to fit three bands, plus two on one bus?" Sydney asked, climbing over his seat, and over Patrick and Noah much to their dismay, to get out of the car. "I mean, where are we all going to sleep?"

A smile spread across Jacqui's face. She turned to answer his question but caught the looks on Riley and Rhuben's face.

"Nevermind," she muttered as Gen opened the trunk of her car.

Wordlessly, they all grabbed their bags and followed McFly into the recording studio. They dropped their bags in the lobby and collapsed into a few of the many chairs.

"So, what are we waiting for?" Tom asked as Jake walked over to them.

"James, Charlie, and Matt," Jake replied. "The bus is out back."

"Cool, can we get on it so I can sleep?" Riley asked, resting her chin in her hand.

"Nope," Jake replied.

"And why not?" Rhuben demanded. Jake grinned sheepishly as everyone turned to look at him.

"I kind of misplaced the key," he replied, and put his hands up defensively when everyone started to grown. "I'm sorry."

"Oh, you're going to be sorry once I'm through with you," Rhuben said getting to her feet. Gen and Jacqui grabbed her arms and forced her back down into her seat.

"You don't know how mad she can get when she doesn't have her sleep," Harry commented. "Or Riley for that matter."

"I'll keep that in mind," Jake said with a nervous laugh. "Oh good, you're here."

"What took you so long?" Tom asked as James, Matt, and Charlie walked into the building.

"I take it you don't want a breakfast bagel then?" Matt asked holding up one of the many McDonald's bags in their hands.

"I'll take one," Dougie said holding up his hand. Charlie pulled one out of the bag and threw it at him. Dougie caught it, quickly unwrapped it, and took a large bite. A smile spread across his face as he slumped in his chair. "That's good."

"The only thing we need now is to find the key to the bus," Jake said tapping his chin. "Now, where did I put it."

"Er, mate, it's not missing," James said dangling the key in front of Jake's face. "You gave it to us to keep just in case, remember?"

"Oh yeah," Jake said with a grin as he grabbed the key. "Well, now that everyone is here, we can get on the bus."

"Good," a few people muttered as they grabbed their bags and followed him towards a back exit.

"You alright?" Matt asked Patrick, Noah, and Sydney as they trudged behind everybody. They were staring at their feet.

"Just tired," Sydney muttered.

"It sounds like you're about to cry," James pointed out.

"I'm not, I'm just tired," Sydney wailed, walking faster.

Silently, Patrick and Noah hurried after him. James, Charlie, and Matt exchanged glances and shrugged before heading after the three boys.

"What's the box for?" Patrick asked as Jake handed Harry a cardboard box. Harry disappeared into the back of the bus.

"Birthday gift," Jake replied, shifting his eyes back and forth.

"Right," Sydney said with a slow nod before the rest of them got onto the bus.

"Which bunks aren't occupied?" Charlie asked.

"One for you three each," Gen called from the back. "Riley and Patrick are sharing a bunk, Rhuben and Noah are sharing one, and Tom is sharing with Sydney."

"Even though he wants to share with someone else," Jacqui added. There was a moment of silence. "_Ow_."

"Sorry."

James, Matt, and Charlie laughed lightly and headed to the back. Patrick, Noah, and Sydney sighed heavily and dropped onto the couch at the front of the bus.

"We're ready to go," Jake said to the bus driver, Wes. He nodded and started the bus. Pretty soon, they pulled out of the parking lot and were headed down the highway. "Everybody, we're officially on tour."

"Shut up," Dougie yelled. "We're trying to sleep."

Jake shook his head and rolled his eyes before heading to the back of the bus. Sydney sat on the couch across from Patrick and Noah, hugging a pillow to his chest.

"I wish Julius was year," Sydney whispered, tears gathering in his eyes.

"Me too," Patrick replied.

"This is our first tour without him," Noah added. He took in a shaky breath, trying to stop himself from crying. He couldn't hold it in; hot tears slipped down his cheeks.

"Stop it," Patrick said wrapping an arm around his twin. "We should be proud of him. He's trying to finish college so he can make our lives better."

"It's not the same without him," Sydney said in between sobs. Noah wrapped his arms around Patrick's waist and buried his head into his chest as he started to cry harder.

"Aren't you guys going to sleep?" Tom asked, emerging from the back.

"We'll be on the bus all tomorrow, and we'll be celebrating because it's your sister's birthday, I suggest you get your sleep now," Harry added. The two of them stopped short when they saw them crying. "Why are you crying?"

"We miss Julius," Sydney said wiping at his eyes.

"It's hard," Noah added. "We don't get to see him anymore."

"This is our first tour without him," Patrick said quietly, rubbing Noah's back.

"Oh," Tom said sitting down next to Sydney. He pulled him into his lap and gave him a small smile. "I understand. But, you shouldn't let that bring you down."

"Yeah, there's nothing in the world he loves more than you guys," Harry added as he sat down in between Patrick and Noah. They laid down on their sides, resting their heads on his legs. "And he's proud of what you guys have accomplished."

"We understand what you're going through," Tom added as Sydney snuggled into his chest. "It was hard for us to leave our sisters when we started our band."

"Granted, we didn't cry," Harry added. "Except for Dougie."

"He cried about his mum, though." Tom replied with a small smile. Harry laughed lightly at the memory. "Everything will get better, guys. Having your friends around helps everything."

Getting no response, Tom and Harry looked down and saw the three boys fast asleep. Harry gently pulled off Patrick's glasses and set them down on the top of the couch.

* * *

The rest of the first day on the bus was filled with FIFA tournaments on the Playstation 2, occasional trips at the gas station to buy food for the mini fridge, or to have some time to get off the bus and take a break from each other.

It was now one in the afternoon on Riley and Rhuben's sixteenth birthday, and everybody's mood was lifted. Riley and Rhuben were still somewhat upset that Julius couldn't be there with them, but decided to have a great day anyway.

"Where's our first show, Jake?" Sydney asked, jumping up and down on one of the couches.

"Dallas, Texas," Jake replied turning in the passenger seat to look at the small boy. "And stop jumping. I don't want to ruin the girls' birthday by sending you to the hospital."

"That would only make it better," Riley said with a grin.

"Yeah, I haven't had a wheelchair race in a while," Rhuben said and the two of them high fived each other. Seeing the look on Jake's face, she wiped the smile off her face. "I was kidding."

"I hope you were," Jake said under his breath then looked at his watch. "Do you guys want to open your gifts now?"

"Yes," Riley and Rhuben replied immediately, causing everyone to laugh.

"Alright then, I'll go first," Jake said as the bus slowed to a stop and pulled up to the side of the road.

"Why are we stopping?" Sydney asked from the floor. He was coloring a picture, a bag of pencils and crayons lying next to him.

"Happy birthday to you," Jake started to sing in reply. Everyone else joined in as Gen and Jacqui put their hands over.

"Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday dear Riley and Rhuben, happy birthday to you."

"And many more," a voice sang out.

Riley and Rhuben heard Patrick, Noah, and Sydney gasp and pulled Gen and Jacqui's hands off their faces and stared at their brother. Julius was standing in front of them with a chocolate cake in his hands.

"What are you doing here?" they asked in unison.

"Aw, he doesn't get a hug?" James asked.

"I just want some of that cake," Matt said rubbing his hands together. "Hand it over here."

"Just don't pass it to Dougie," Charlie added. Dougie stuck his tongue out at him but stared longingly as the cake was passed by him. James, Matt, and Charlie got to work on cutting the cake into individual pieces.

"Before we start on the rest of the gifts, we have one for Pat and Noa," Riley said as Harry got out of his seat and headed into the back. He reappeared minutes later with a cardboard box and handed it to the twins.

"What is it?" Patrick asked.

"You don't want to shake that," Danny said slowly. Patrick and Noah exchanged glances and opened the lid.

"Puppies," they gasped in unison and pulled out two Siberian huskies.

"Aw, they're so cute," Gen gushed.

"They're not-"

"Before Jake has a conniption," Julius interrupted Jake. "I'm going to follow the bus in a rental car and the puppies will be with me. At any time, if you guys want off the bus, feel free to ride with me."

"What are their names?" Jacqui asked as Noah handed him the puppy in his arms.

"Um, this one is Axel," Noah said looking at its name tag.

"And this one is Roxas," Patrick added. "Cook, Kingdom Hearts names. Thank you."

"No problem," Riley said and kissed Patrick on the cheek.

"Ok, this gift is from everybody here," Jacqui said dropping a box onto Rhuben's legs.

"What's in it, weights?" Rhuben asked as Riley tore off the wrapping paper.

"No, it's a photo album," Riley said smiling as she lifted the book out of the box. "And your camera."

"_That's_ where it went," Rhuben said grabbing it. "I was getting ready to buy a new one."

"They have all the pictures from your camera in here?" Julius asked. "Hey, there's a picture of me!"

"Who's next?" Jake asked.

For the next thirty minutes, the group ate cake, played with the puppies, and told stories. Their gifts varied from the scrapbook, to make-up from Gen and Tom, to thongs as a gag gift from Dougie and Danny, to wrist guards and skateboard wheels from Matt, and a lot more.

"And now, the last gift is from me," Jake said handing Riley a manila folder. Julius shifted his gaze to his feet, and pressed his lips tightly together. "But, it's for all of you."

"A folder?" she asked raising her eyebrows.

"Open it," Sydney said sitting up. Shrugging, Riley opened it and silently read the piece of paper inside. Wordlessly she handed it to Sydney.

"What does that say?" she asked him. "I want to make sure."

Sydney gave her a confused look and then took the folder. His lips moved as he silently read the paper. Then his eyes grew wide and the folder and paper slipped out of his hands.

"Well?" Patrick and Noah asked, gently shaking him.

"It said-"Sydney swallowed thickly and everyone waited for him to speak. He buried his head in his hands and started to cry.

"_What_?" Rhuben asked, a scared look on her face.

"Jake-"Sydney gasped. "He . . . he adopted us."

"Wh-what?" Rhuben asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"It's only if you want me as your . . . dad," Jake jumped in. "I haven't signed it yet. But, once I do, you'll legally be my children."

Tom, Danny, Dougie, Harry, James, Charlie, Matt, Gen, and Jaqui's jaws dropped in unison. Then a small smile crossed Tom's face and he tried to hide it with his hand.

"Julius too?" Riley asked.

"Yes, me too," Julius replied. "Even though I'm eighteen."

"You knew?" Sydney asked through his tears.

"Why are you crying?" Julius asked with a small laugh.

"I don't know," Sydney wailed.

"Do-do you _want_ me to be your dad?" Jake asked quietly.

"I do," Sydney whispered. Jake nodded slightly and turned to Patrick, Noah, Riley, and Rhuben. They were staring into space, deep in thought.

"Well, Dougie it's safe to say your songs relate to a lot of people," Jake said nervously wringing his hands. "Silence _is _a scary sound."

Dougie couldn't help but start laughing. Danny elbowed him in the side and he fell silent. Riley and Rhuben looked over at Patrick and Noah. They were petting their new pets. They looked up at their sisters and gave a slight nod.

"Jake," Riley said quietly, grabbing the manila folder and put the adoption papers back in it. She grabbed a pen out of her pocket and handed it to him. "We'd be forever happy if you were our dad."


	22. Chapter 22: Overworked Pt 1

**Chapter Twenty-Two**

_Overworked Part 1_

It's been two weeks since the tour started and McFly, Busted, and the DarkElements couldn't be any happier. So far they've had three sold out concerts and get great feedback from the fans. While on tour, the DarkElements held a contest on their website to see who would get a signed I-pod from them, seeing as Riley and Rhuben got new ones for their birthday, and they got a massive flood of emails.

Life on the road for the group of friends couldn't be better for them. Sure, they had their fair share of arguments and disagreements about what they wanted to do on their day off. None the less, the Jacksons were all around happier because they finally had someone in their lives they could call a dad.

"Morning," Sydney chirped the next morning, walking to the front of the bus. James looked up at him and started laughing. Sydney was wearing a really oversized blue long sleeved shirt and jeans. The sleeves went way past his hands. "What?"

"Who gave you that shirt?" James asked as Sydney padded over to him and climbed into his lap.

"Tom," Sydney replied.

"Ah," James replied. "You just look smaller than you normally do." Sydney giggled in reply and leaned back against James's chest.

"Aw, now that's a cute picture," Riley commented before grabbing Rhuben's digital camera and taking a picture. "I'll probably put it as my laptop background."

"Morning, Riles," James greeted her as she dropped onto the couch across from him.

"Morning," she replied stretching her arms over her head.

"Did you sleep well?" James asked.

"Somehow I did over Dougie's snoring," Riley said arching an eyebrow. "Don't ask me how thought, cause I sure as hell don't know myself." James laughed and shook his head.

"I'm hungry," Sydney whined. "Riley can you make me something?"

"I don't have a stove or anything to use, Little Man," Riley replied. "Do you miss my home cooking _that _much?" Sydney nodded in reply. "Maybe we can stop at a fast food place for breakfast."

"All you guys have been eating is fast food," Jake said rubbing his eyes as he walked over to them from the back of the bus. "I don't want you guys to get fat."

"We dance, like, everyday," Sydney said crossing his arms, the extra length of the shirt slapping James in the face. "We couldn't get fat if we wanted too."

"I think Matt's putting on a few extra pounds," James said with a grin.

"I heard that," Matt's voice yelled from the back. James let out a small laugh.

"Even if we do eat a lot of fast food, we still eat healthy," Riley said raising an eyebrow.

"She's got a point," James said resting his chin on Sydney's shoulder. "They're like the only ones that buy fruits and vegetables when we stop at a supermarket."

"Alright, I guess we can stop at a McDonald's or something," Jake said giving a small smile.

"Yay," Sydney cheered throwing up his arms. James winced when the long sleeves slapped him in the face again. "Oops, sorry."

"We need to get you more shirts that are your size," James said tugging on the shirt sleeves. Sydney stuck his tongue out at him in reply.

"Start waking everybody else up," Jake said running his hands through his hair. "Tell them that we'll stop to get breakfast in ten minutes."

"Ok," Sydney said sliding off James's lap and rushed into the back of the bus.

"Are you ok?" James asked, peering at Riley. She was staring out the window behind him, biting her thumbnail. She squinted and hesitated before replying.

"Does Rhuben seem a bit off to you?" she asked quietly.

"How so?" James replied arching an eyebrow.

"She's just acting different," Riley replied. "She doesn't yell at Danny a lot."

"Well, it's probably since she's been going after Charlie," James said with a shrug.

"I don't think that's it," Jake said shaking his head. "She's been staying up pretty late too."

"Maybe Julius knows," James offered. "He knows everything."

"Speaking of which, I'm going to call him and tell him we're going to stop and get something to eat," Jake said pulling his cell phone out of his pocket and headed to the passenger seat of the bus.

Minutes later, everyone else was awake sitting in the front of the bus, waiting for them to stop and get something to eat. The only person that wasn't awake was Rhuben.

"She said she wasn't hungry," Noah replied when asked.

"Is she feeling ok?" Riley asked.

"She looked fine to me," Noah replied slowly.

"I'll go check on her," Charlie offered getting to his feet.

* * *

Squinting my eyes open, I glanced at the display on my watch. 9:45. I let out a sigh and lifted my head, groaning when I felt my head start to throb. It felt like it weighed five pounds heavier. I gently put my head back down on my pillow and let out a sigh. '_I just can't be sick_' I thought in dismay.

"Hey, Rhuben?" I heard a voice ask quietly. I squinted and pulled the curtain aside and looked at Charlie.

"Huh?" I asked, more like a grunt.

"Are you ok?" he asked, a concerned look on his face.

"Yeah, I'm just tired," I replied. "I didn't get a lot of sleep last night."

"Well, we're going to stop and get breakfast," Charlie explained.

"I'm not hungry," I replied closing my eyes.

"Are you sure?" Charlie asked. "Do you want me to get you something?"

"No, that's ok," I replied stifling a yawn. "I'm going back to sleep."

"If you're sure," Charlie said before heading back to the front of the bus.

I let out a sigh and closed the curtain. I grabbed my head and pressed my thumbs hard against my temples, trying to relieve the pain. I sat up and tilted my pillow and immediately regretted it. My stomach lurched at the slightest movement.

I sat there for a little bit, wondering if I was going to puke or not. Seeing as I wasn't I laid back down and tried to go to sleep. Everyone at the front of the bus was talking in hushes voices. I let out a heavy sigh, annoyed at the sound.

Soon I felt the bus slow down and then come to a stop. I heard footsteps lead off the bus and soon it was silent. I rolled onto my stomach and faced the wall. I closed my eyes and tried to go to sleep.

I was asleep for a good twenty minutes, then woke up in a sweat. I was annoyed at myself wondering why I couldn't get to sleep. Well, for one thing, I'm not used to going to sleep when it's quiet, and I can't go to sleep with a lot of noise.

Groaning, I pushed the curtain aside and slowly slid out of my bunk. I walked to the back and looked for my laptop case. I grabbed it and climbed back up into my bed. I turned it on and spent a good thirty minutes, on YouTube searching through hip hop videos and working on some new songs.

Pretty soon, everyone else was back on the bus. "Rhu-Rhu, we got you a bacon, egg, and cheese bagel," Sydney announced rushing over to my bunk.

"I'm not hungry," I replied resting my chin in my palm.

"When was the last time you ate?" Julius asked, walking up. I gave him a confused look in reply. "Tom and Gen are driving my car for a while. They wanted some time to themselves."

"I'll bet," I replied under my breath.

"Answer the question," Julius said slightly annoyed.

"Dessert last night," I replied going back to my computer. Julius reached his hand up and forced my computer shut.

"Hey," I protested.

"Are you feeling ok?" Julius asked, peering at me.

"I'm fine," I snapped running my fingers through my hair.

"You never sleep in," Julius replied scrutinizing me. "The only time you do is if you're sick."

"I'm not sick, ok?" I asked with an edge to my tone. "Just leave me alone."

"Rhu-Rhu," Sydney said quietly holding a hand over his mouth.

"You have to eat something," Julius said setting Sydney on the ground. "Now. Come on."

Rolling my eyes, I got out of bed and headed to the front of the bus and sat down on the couch. Sydney handed me the breakfast bagel and gave me a look with his big blue eyes.

"What?" I asked with a sigh. Sydney shook his head and climbed into James's lap.

"Are you ok?" Danny asked after a moment of silence.

"Would you guys stop asking me that?" I asked really annoyed. "I'm fine, ok?"

"I'm not leaving until you eat something," Julius said crossing his arms over his chest as he sat down across from me. "I don't care how long it takes either."

"I _told _you, I'm not hungry," I replied tilting my head back.

"You must be," Noah piped up. "You didn't eat dinner last night." I leaned forward and gave him a look. Patrick put his arm across his shoulders.

"Let's go play FIFA," he suggested quietly. Noah nodded slightly and the two of them headed into the back of the bus. Seeing the look on Julius's face, Sydney rushed after them.

"You haven't resorted back to your eating disorder have you?" Jacqui asked.

"No, I haven't" I replied eyeing the breakfast bagel in front of me. "I've just been busy."

"You've been working non stop," Harry said shaking his head. "You need to take a break."

"I'm fine," I replied quietly.

"Rhu, please just take a break," Matt said with a sigh. "Thirty minutes, that's all I'm asking. "

"Whatever," I replied rolling my eyes. "I don't get what your guys' problem is."

"Our problem is, you're working too hard," Charlie replied. "We're just looking out for you."

"You're overworking yourself," James added. "I mean, I know you love what you do for your band, but everyone needs to take a break and have fun at one point."

"Yeah, yeah," I replied waving my hand. Sighing heavily, I grabbed the breakfast bagel and took a large bite out of it.

It never tasted better.

* * *

"Hey, Rhu."

I looked up from the ground, where I had been staring at for the past ten minutes, and smiled at Matt. We all stopped at a local park, deciding we needed some time to get fresh air and have some fun.

Danny, Riley, Dougie, Jacqui, Julius, Patrick, and Noah were playing soccer. Tom, Gen, and Charlie were watching Sydney as he played with Roxas and Axel. James was sitting on a bench playing his guitar and talking to Jake. I was sitting on the swing set, gently pushing myself back and forth with my feet.

"Hey, Mattie," I replied as he pulled back on the swing handles. He let go and I swung forward. He gently pushed my back, pushing me forward again. "What's up?"

"Remember when we first met?" Matt asked in reply. "Back in Australia when we were really young, when my family was visiting?"

"Yeah, you made fun of Riley and me, pushed us off the swing, and then we got you back by pretending to cry," I replied.

"Well, remember when we promised that we'd tell each other anything and answer any question we ask, truthfully?" Matt asked.

"Yeah, why?" I replied.

"What's bothering you?" Matt asked quietly. "Don't tell me nothing because I know something is."

I sat there in silence, thinking. "Nothing's bothering me," I replied.

"Oh come on," Matt said rolling his eyes. "I've been your friend long enough to know when you're lying."

"Considering I hadn't seen you all those years and you hardly called?" I asked.

"You could've called me," Matt replied. "You had my number."

"Well, Riley and I thought that-"

"That I'd be too busy with my band that I wouldn't have time for you?" Matt guessed, sitting down on the swing next to me. "That's a load of crap and you know it."

I shrugged in reply, turning to look at him. "Yeah, I guess so. Then, we became famous and all I've been pretty much thinking about is getting dad off my back, finding someone that I can actually _call_ dad, and trying to go through life without Julius being there," I said with a heavy sigh. I stopped the swing and sat sideways in it, looking at Matt.

'_I feel so weird today…like I'm thinking about something important…but I'm not_' I thought as my headache came back in a dull pain.

"Rhuben?" Matt's voice interrupted my repeating thoughts. I turned to him with a confused expression, still not completely paying attention. "You Ok?" I simply nodded, like I hadn't really heard him, and tried to concentrate on what he was saying. Before I knew it, I zoned out once again. "Are you sure? You seem distracted."

I shook my head, trying to clear it, before turning back to him and smiling. "I'm fine. I'm just really out of it today."

He nodded slightly before a look crossed his face. I knew what he was thinking and frankly, I agreed with him. '_Something's up with me_.' I sat there staring into space for I don't know how long. I didn't even notice Matt get up and walk over to James and Jake, sitting on the bench with them.

I saw the looks they were giving me and got really annoyed. I gripped my head, feeling my headache double. "What the hell is wrong with me?" I whispered as tears came to my eyes. I hardly ever cried. Something must've been really bothering me. But, I don't know what.

My thoughts continued on for the rest of the time we were at the park, making me even more spaced out. I got up out of the swing and sat down in the shade of the tree, leaning my head back against the trunk.

'_Get your thoughts straight, Rhuben! What happened that's making you act like this? Nothing…so then what's up?_' I leaned my head forward and it rested on the locker above mine, as I staring blankly into my locker.

"Hey," a voice whispered into my ear. "What's wrong?"

I turned to see Charlie standing next to me with his dark blue eyes full of worry. _'W__hy do I keep making everyone else worried over something __**I**__ don't even know the reason of? They ask me why I'm feeling like I am, and I don't even know what to say? How stupid is that?_' I thought, blankly staring up at him.

"Rhu?" Charlie repeated.

"I don't know…" I finally whispered. "I'm just totally spaced out today…"

"Yeah, Matt and Jake mentioned that to me. They told me how you were completely out of it," he explained as he sat down next to me.

I let out a sigh and looked down at my hand. I had a fistful of grass in it. A pile was at my feet. I hadn't even realized I was pulling the blades apart. Squinting, I dropped the handful of grass.

Charlie was still watching me. I let out a frustrated sigh and looked up at him. Charlie grabbed my arms and pulled me to my feet. I let him pull me in for a hug as I just stood there, lost in my thoughts once more. Still, the hug made me feel a lot better.

"Maybe I'm just tired," I suggested, pulling away.

Charlie just nodded as I started walking off. I was actually surprised I could walk, from how woozy I felt. My legs felt like noddles, but somehow I was able to walk over to Sydney. He gave me a questioning look as he handed me Roxas.

"Where were you at breakfast?" Gen asked sitting down on the ground next to me.

"Asleep," I replied simply.

"For that long?" Tom asked raising his eyebrows.

"Yeah, so?"

"Julius," Tom explained.

"Julius doesn't _know_ what's up," I pointed out, "_I _don't even know what's up."

"Are you Ok?" Gen asked, making her the fourth person to ask me that in the past hour and a half.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I answered with a smile.

"Liar," Sydney whispered.

I turned back to glare at him, "Shut up."

The frustration was definitely starting to show now and I was trying my absolute best to keep my cool. Luckily, no one else asked me that question again. I could feel their eyes locked right onto me as I silently scratched Roxas in between his ears. I silently prayed that no one else would ask me if I was Ok, because I was on the brink of losing my temper.

The look in Charlie's eyes was stuck in my brain. I'd never seen him actually look so worried, especially about me. Even though I've known Charlie for a good time now, he was still a mystery to me. Of course I saw him a lot since he was my friend's friend, not to mention my tour mate, and he was always around. But I'd never been particularly close to him. I'd never even had a good talk with him since the Beach Games. He'd just been…_there_. But, now I feel attracted to him.

And never, in my widest dreams, had I imagined that Charlie could be the one to make me feel better when everyone else failed…or that he could actually care about me the way I saw him.

I handed Roxas back to Sydney and, feeling the looks drill a hole in my back, walked off I wanted so bad to turn around and snap at them to cut it out and to tell them I was fine. Of course, that wouldn't be very convincing…I didn't know where I was going. I just started walking. I needed to do something.

Julius stopped me at one end of the soccer field. He grabbed a Gatorade from the cooler we brought out, and handed me a bag of grapes, wanting me to eat it.

'_Please let food make me feel better!_ ' I thought as I opened the bag.

I sat down on the sidelines of the soccer field, so I would be reasonably away from the pairs of eyes that had been tracing my every move for the past hour. They were now joined by another pair of eyes, Julius', which only bugged me more. Fortunately, Dougie and Patrick were the only guys _not_ looking staring at me, making me forever grateful. Danny had even given me one or two weird looks, actually making me feel sick.

Once I actually looked over at Noah with pleading eyes, hoping he would stop staring but he'd only looked away. The moment I turned my head back, though, his eyes were back.

I didn't have much of an appetite, so I only ate half the bag of grapes, even though I was eating green ones and they're my favorite. Even those made me feel sick to my stomach. '_What's up with these mood swings? I neverhave mood swings that are this frequent…_'


	23. Chapter 23: Overworked Pt 2

**A/N: The parts in this chapter, and the last chapter that described how Rhuben was feeling with her headache was inspired by a story I read on Fictionpress calld Perfectly Imperfect. I do not own the idea of the headache thing.**

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* * *

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**Chapter Twenty-Three**

_Overworked Part 2_

"When do you guys find out how well you guys do on the ARIA?" Danny finally spoke up.

"Monday," Riley answered simply.

Riley and I exchanged a look and I knew she understood how I was feeling. I didn't feel like talking, meaning I wanted _less_ attention. But by wanting less attention, I ended up getting _more_, making me feel worse.

"When's your guys' single coming out?" Riley asked.

"Sometime next week," Dougie answered. '_Okay, so he used more words but it was still the same tone_' I thought, resting my chin in my hand.

"I need to go to the restroom," I proclaimed suddenly, standing up.

"I'll come too," Riley volunteered, obviously feeling just as awkward as me.

Those four pairs of eyes followed me all the way to the restroom! Just before going in, I turned back and gave them the best 'back off' look I could manage.

"What's up with them?" Riley questioned right away. "Staring isn't gonna make you feel any better, plus it's impolite. What's wrong anyways?"

"I don't know," I repeated like I had so many times before. Except this time I didn't mind because I knew Riley was trying to help me.

"Headaches? Mood Swings?" she began guessing. "Do you feel sick?"

"All of those," I confessed. "It started around midnight last night; I tried to sleep, but became restless. Soon, I started spacing out and the next thing I knew, I had no idea about what was going on around me. After that I felt frustrated and angry but still tired. I've been going through random mood swings the whole day and now my head hurts too."

"It sounds like something big is bothering you," she analyzed.

I sighed again, "I thought about that but I couldn't think of anything that's bothering me…"

"Nothing at all?"

"Nothing that would cause mood swings…"

"Did you sleep alright?"

"I didn't have any trouble sleeping, even though I yelled at Danny before going to bed," I explained.

"You're right, this makes no sense," she agreed.

I closed my eyes and slowly rubbed my temples. "Maybe it's just one of those days," I suggested.

Riley gave me an odd look so I kept going, "You know, one of those days that you just wake feeling weird and you just need to get away from your every day. One of those days when you can't get your thoughts straight and…I don't know what you're supposed to do on one of those days, but I think that's what this is."

"Yeah, I think I get what you're saying and you might be right. What're you gonna do though?" she asked.

'_That's always the hardest question…_' I thought biting my lower lip."I have no idea…we have to train soon but I really don't feel like it. I don't feel sick either so it's not like I can get out of it. Do I just deal with it?"

Riley looked just as defeated as me. "Guess so," she finally said.

"There's one thing I'll need your help with, though," I pointed out.

"What's that?"

"Getting the guys off my back," I laughed. '_That's the first time I've laughed today…_'

Riley laughed too and said, "I already tried but I think they're convinced that you're dying or something."

"Yeah," I replied with a sigh.

* * *

After the park, we all got back on the bus and had a FIFA tournament. Needless to say, Sydney beat all of us pretty badly. About two hours later, we stopped at our hotel and checked in. We had a concert the next day and we still needed to work on our music and everything.

Needless to say, my siblings and I always ran a mile the day before our concert and worked out so we would be in top shape for our dance routines.

"Maybe you shouldn't do the mile today," Charlie suggested, back to his same, over-worried self.

I couldn't help smiling at how he thought I was about to die. Riley, Patrick, Noah, Sydney, and I were stretching in the hotel lobby, getting ready to go outside and run. Charlie had followed us from his hotel room, the concerned look, constantly on his face.

"Charlie," I laughed, "I'll be fine, I'm feeling much better."

"Charlie has a point, though," Sydney added. "Especially since we're running a mile."

"Syd," I pleaded. "I'm _fine_, and I'm gonna _be_ fine, so quit worrying."

They still looked doubtful meaning there was nothing more I could say to change their minds. Of course, I was going to run, even though I could still feel the headache throbbing in my brain. But it was better not to mention that, since nothing too bad had happened so far and the guys were already freaking out. Running was one of the things I loved to do.

Since the hotel was so big, running around it four times would count as a mile.

"Sure you're Ok?" Noah asked quietly as I stood by him, jumping up and down, stretching his legs.

"I'm fine," I smiled, still feeling the throbbing in my head.

"You're a terrible liar," he said his blue eyes searching mine.

I took a couple of deep breaths before we walked outside. Riley talked to us for a few minutes about not over doing it, then finally started running. I started out at a reasonable speed, running next to Patrick. It took me a minute of analyzing how long it would take for me to run the mile, when I realized that Danny and James were right behind us!

I gave them a frustrated and annoyed look, "Guys, I'm fine!"

They exchanged the exact same look before sighing and running on ahead. "Finally," I mumbled. It's not that I didn't appreciate their worry, it's just that I didn't want them to worry _that_ much, and I definitely didn't want them to trace my every step. I was convinced I was perfectly fine!

Until the headache came back…It had disappeared for a minute when I first started running and I'd figured it was because I'd gotten used to it. But, obviously, I hadn't realized how bad it was until it came back, stronger than ever.

I tried my best not to let it show and closed my eyes to try and block it out. Still, no matter how hard I tried, it kept persisting. It started throbbing along with the beat of my footsteps on the track. Every time I took a step, a new throb appeared. I was on the beginning of my third lap now, meaning I only had one more after this one.

'_I just need to finish this and I'll be able to rest…just deal with the pain a little longer and you'll be done. No more headaches…they'll just disappear…_' I thought, breathing heavily. I was now ahead of the rest of my family, seeing as I was the fastest one, after Julius of course.

"Rhu!" Patrick's slightly panicking voice exclaimed right in my ear. '_God, that hurt…_'"Rhu, you don't look that great."

I finally opened my eyes again and looked around to make sure Danny or James hadn't heard him. The last thing I needed right now was more people getting all worked up over nothing. I slowly smiled at Patrick, trying to make it look brave. "It's Ok," I half-lied.

We'd just finished our third lap meaning one more and I would be done. "Still feeling Ok?" Danny's voice asked. He'd been running with James a little ahead of us, obviously only so they could keep an eye on us.

"Yeah," I almost whispered, dreading every step that came.

"You don't sound Ok," he noticed, raising his voice a little so James came over too.

"Don't yell," I whispered.

"Rhu-" Danny started but I cut him off.

I put on my most convincing smile and turned to look at them. "Really guys, I'm fine. We're almost done anyways so it doesn't even matter," I continued lying, ignoring the fact that I could barely hear my words.

Plus, the end of the mile was almost here, just a couple more steps and a couple more throbs and it would all be over. Don't mind the fact that I couldn't see right or that my eyes were slowly becoming wet. As long as I could make it to the end, I could show them that I really was fine and that this was no big deal.

Finally, after what seemed like seven hours instead of seven minutes, I finally passed the finish line. Yeah, I stumbled over to the grass right away, trying whatever I could think of to get rid of the pain, but at least I finished.

"Rhuben!" James called, somehow appearing by my side within a second.

"Don't yell," I repeated, even quieter.

The throbbing in my head was slowly becoming less frequent, but that didn't mean it was disappearing. I lifted my head up and was surprised to see everyone staring at me with their eyes full of worry. I had never felt so guilty…

'_I'm fine…I finished the mile and now it's all over._' I thought, trying not to yell at them. I was finally able to see and forced a smile, "See, I'm fine."

"Like hell you are," Julius' voice came all of a sudden, sounding more angry than worried. I let out a small groan when I saw him walking, no more like stomping, over to me. "You know you shouldn't have run that mile!"

"Dude, calm down," Danny said.

"She already has a headache," Riley added.

"You ran a whole mile with a headache…?" Sydney asked, unbelievingly, but in a lower voice.

Riley helped me stand up and I managed to smile again before returning to the hotel. Once inside, I had a huge gulp of water, making me feel better immediately. I headed into the bathroom and wiped the sweat from my forehead with a paper towel.

"Rhu, you really shouldn't have run that mile," Riley said following me.

I nodded, realizing just how right she was. It wasn't worth it…but I need to stay in shape

"Promise me you'll never do something stupid like that again," she asked.

I stared evenly at her, "I promise I'll never _ever_ do something that stupid again."

_Another lie._

Riley looked satisfied and I felt much better now that I could see and hear normally. The throbs had decreased in pain and frequency so I could walk now too. "I feel a lot better now so I'm gonna head up to our room," I announced. "Tell the guys to meet me down here later. I saw a dance studio on the way here, so we can practice there later."

She looked a little uncertain but still she nodded. I threw away the paper towel I used, and headed out the door. Little did I know, Danny was waiting right outside the door and I almost bumped into him. I was glad that we were friends but right now, he was being too protective.

"Hi," I greeted casually.

"Rhu," he started, "Why would you do something like that?"

"I really thought I could make it," I confessed. "I didn't feel that bad until maybe the fourth lap, but I still managed to finish."

"You almost passed out!" he exclaimed, a little too loud. That did surprise me though. I didn't think I was even close to passing out…

"I did?"

"Yes!"

"Could you not yell?" I asked quietly.

"Sorry," he apologized, "It's just that it was a really stupid thing to do, Rhu. Don't ever scare us like that again."

"I won't," I replied, brushing past him.

Danny smiled, finally satisfied. He engulfed me in a huge hug. What he didn't realize was that he was the only thing that was keeping me standing at that moment.

"I have to go to upstairs" I finally said, pulling away.

We said a quick goodbye as we headed different ways. I could still remember how I couldn't stand and his embrace had kept me up.'_I wonder if he noticed_' I thought scratching my forehead.

I headed up to my hotel room, which was actually a suite I was sharing with my siblings. Jacqui and Gen were sitting on the couch watching TV. I laughed and put my hands on my hips.

"Who let you in?" I asked.

"Sydney," they replied in unison, nodding towards the bathroom door, where I heard water running. I shrugged and sat down on the floor.

"Are you ok?" Gen asked flipping the remote in her hand. "You look out of it."

"If I heard that question one more time," I whispered. "What part of 'I'm fine' don't you guys get?"

"The 'I'm fine' part," Jacqui replied. "You're lying through your teeth. You're not fine. What's the matter?"

"Nothing," I said annoyed. "Just leave me alone, ok?"

"Maybe you really should stay in the hotel today," Jacqui suggested. "You don't have to practice until tomorrow."

"Tired of me already?" I joked.

"I'm serious, Rhu,"s he stated, indeed in a serious tone.

"Don't worry," I repeated for the hundredth time that day. "I'll have my siblings with me at all times," I reassured with a small smile. "If I don't go today, we won't have time to go over the new dance I thought up."

After about 50 minutes of pointlessly talking and staring blankly at the TV, Tom called asking if we wanted to go out for dinner. That's also the same time my headache got much worse than before. I even bended over and rubbed my temples, hoping it was only temporary. A few minutes later, it was still there and worse than ever.

"You want to go out to eat?" Gen offered in a worried voice. "You really don't look that good."

"Yeah," I replied getting to my feet. "Tell me when we're leaving."

I took a quick shower and headed into the hotel room I was sharing with Noah and collapsed onto the nearest bed. I clamped my eyes shut, pulling a pillow over my head. Once again I wanted to cry and scream and laugh at the same time. 'W_hat's wrong with me? I've never felt like this before…_'

Suddenly, I noticed that my eyes were wet and that a single tear was sliding down my cheek. '_Where did that come from?_' I let it dissolve into my pillow before wiping my eyes, getting rid of any tears that might have come. '_Why would I cry over something like this? Yeah, I'm confused and my head hurts, but I don't have to cry about it. All I need a nap and I'll be fine again._;

I closed my eyes again and tried to forget about the hammer inside my head. I felt my body get heavier until I couldn't move a single bone. Slowly I drifted off to sleep, feeling no better than before.

* * *

The next time I woke up, I was wondering why I was awake. I rolled onto my back and looked up at Julius. He pressed his hand onto my forehead and clicked his tongue.

"We're going out to practice then to dinner," he said. "Are you sure you want to come?"

"Yeah, I'll be out in a minute, just let me get my shoes," I replied. Julius gave me a suspicious look before heading out of the bedroom.

I brought my hand up to touch my head, which still felt pretty heavy. After slowly swinging my legs over the side of the bed, I attempted to stand up. Immediately, I became dizzy and fell back down. '_Okay so maybe I'm not fine now…_' I thought with a sigh.

After a few more attempts to stand, I finally managed to walk out of the room and headed towards the arena where we'll be performing tomorrow. I almost wasn't surprised to see Danny and Charlie sitting in the lobby whispering to each other.

_Coincidence?_

_I don't think so._

"Hey Rhuben," Danny greeted casually.

"Hi," I replied with a small smile. I knew I looked really messed up but I didn't care since Danny had seen me look much worse before. Charlie on the other hand…

The drive over to the arena was pretty quiet. I had my head pressed against the cool glass of the window, sighing happily. We made it to the arena ten minutes later and was surprised to see how many people would be sitting in there the next day.

Charlie and Danny were still watching me. "Feel better?" Charlie asked.

"Yeah," I replied distractedly.

"You don't look that great," Danny pointed out as if I needed to be reminded. Charlie gave Danny a look like he understood that I didn't need Danny to tell me that again.

"I'm fine," I repeated, heading up on stage. "This place is so awesome."

"Just think about all the screaming fans," Sydney said spreading out his arms and spinning in a circle.

"This'll be awesome," Riley said stretching her legs. "Did any of you bring the stereo?"

"Julius has it with him," Jake said walking up to us. I let out a sigh as he motioned for me to come with him. I walked off the stage and into the wings. He stared at me before he started scolding me.

Just like a dad.

"Charlie told me that you ran a mile," he started again, raising her voice. "Of all the stupid things, Rhuben-"

I cut him off by reminding, "Don't yell, I already have a headache."

He stopped immediately and waited another minute before walking out. I had a feeling he was going to talk to Julius. I was going to be in big trouble sooner or later.

And Jake being mad at me, would be something I'd have to get used to.

* * *

The night of the concert couldn't come any slower. We were all excited for it, constantly talking about the order of the songs we were playing or if we should have a light show going with it or not.

Sydney spent a good portion of the day with Gen at the arena, talking to the maintenance guy about his ideas of fireworks and stuff like that. Jacqui spent the last half hour, before we headed to the arena, helping Harry pick out what he was going to wear that night.

Julius, Riley, Patrick, Noah, and I spent a good time arguing on what _we_ were going to wear that night. We spent an even longer time with Sydney, talking on the phone with him, trying to get him to choose something to wear, but he was as picky as ever.

Matt, Charlie, and James, like every other concert, wasn't worrying about their looks. They were too busy playing the Xbox 360. Dougie was busy stuffing his face, Danny was jugging a soccer ball from foot to foot and Tom was talking to Jake about their new single (to be announced later.)

I was in my room, trying to tie my tie. "Still have a headache?" a voice suddenly asked from behind me. I turned around to see Charlie standing at my doorway with a small smile. He was wearing black shoes, blue jeans, a black dressy t-shirt and a silver tie.

"Yeah," I nodded.

"You didn't look that bad before," Charlie laughed, obviously noticing that I'd cleaned up a little.

"Liar," I smiled back.

He was quiet again as I looked back into the window. "Why didn't you stop running the mile when you got dizzy?" Charlie finally questioned, with a hint of anger…or frustration. I really couldn't tell since it was a mix between those too. Or it was neither…

"I didn't think it was that bad," I replied. "And I finished, so it must not have been that bad."

"Would you quit being so modest?" he practically snapped, taking a few steps closer. I never heard him that mad before "You don't realize how bad you were when you stopped running. You were about to faint by the time you finished!"

Honestly, all I wanted to tell him was not to yell but instead I settled for, "I'm telling you, it's not that bad. I'm feeling much better now, anyways, so why does it even matter?"

"Why does it matter!?" he repeated incredulously, like he couldn't believe a word I was saying. "It matters because you scared all of us more than you think!"

"Charlie," I whispered, really wishing he'd stop yelling. "Believe me when I tell you I'm fine."

"Rhuben" His voice was much softer now and it sounded much closer too. I turned and looked at him. He leaned over and pressed his lips to mine in a soft kiss. He pulled away and smiled. "I really care about you. And you're really scaring me. Are you absolutely positive you're fine."

"Yes, I'm fine," I replied quietly, reaching up to tuck the lock of purple hair behind my ear. Charlie beat me to it. He smiled and kissed me on the cheek.

"Guys, it's time to go," Gen said knocking on the door. I noticed the smirk slid onto her face and rolled my eyes. "Am I interrupting something?"

"Yes," Charlie said with a small laugh. He slid his arm around my waist and guided me out of the room.

"Rhu, you look so much better," Gen said with a smile as we headed out of hotel room.

"Thanks," I replied shortly. She nodded slightly and rushed up to Tom, giving him a hug and a kiss on the cheek before taking his hand.

"Do you want to take the bus or Julius's car?" she asked him.

"The bus," Tom replied automatically. "Those dogs aren't peeing on me again."

"Sorry about that," Julius said scratching the back of his head. "Come on, we better get going. Sydney is still at the arena and he needs to change." Patrick and Noah held up hangers with Sydney's clothes on it.

"You seriously don't know how picky he can be," Noah said putting a hand on his hip.

"He's eight, what do you expect?" Jacqui asked.

"Well, he spends all of his time with Tom, you'd think he'd start dressing like him," Patrick said arching an eyebrow.

"Seriously, I don't think we need another Tom," Dougie said with a smile.

"Gee, thanks," Tom said rolling his eyes. "Come on, let's get going."

* * *

"How are you guys doing tonight?" Sydney yelled into his microphone. His voice came through my head mic and rocked my brain. I fought the urge to reach up and grab my head.

The screams of the our fans didn't do much better either. I decided to take my mind off the pain by reading some of the signs that some people were holding. But, I couldn't make them out.

"We hope you guys are having a great time tonight," Riley said waving. "We know you guys wanted us to perform songs with our instruments tonight."

"But, tonight is all about the dance," Noah cut in, doing a little bit of the running man, laughing when the girls' screams got louder.

"Alright, all of you better sing along to this next song," Patrick said wiping the sweat off his forehead. "We know you know all the words."

"Alright you guys, this song's called All I Can Do," Sydney said walking over to his place at center stage. "It's our cover version from the amazing group, Jump 5."

Seconds later, music poured in through the speakers and my siblings and I waited for our cue to start dancing.

"It's like I got nothing to do but think about you," we sang the beginning of the song.

Hearing our cue, we started dancing, spinning two times. Silently, I coached myself through the dance moves, trying to ignore the pain in my head. My head seemed to throb with every beat my heart took. '_Alright, you got through the first verse_' I thought, sliding to my left twice. '_Now, Patrick starts the bridge_.'

I turned my head slightly to look at him but I couldn't make out where he was standing. My eyes closed almost immediately and I felt my forehead start to burn up. My knees slowly started to shake, like they couldn't support my weight anymore.

All of a sudden, I felt a pair of arms go around my shoulders and I heard Charlie's voice. I was glad that he was there. I felt my knees shake again and I grabbed onto Charlie for support. If he hadn't been there I would have definitely fallen to the ground within a second.

"Rhuben?" he whispered, finally starting to realize what was happening. I was holding onto him like my life depended on it. What he didn't realize was that he was the only thing keeping me standing.

I was half-unconscious.

"Rhuben!" I heard a far-away voice yell as my eyes closed. My whole body leaned forward and I felt myself slip out of Charlie's arms and fall to the ground.

Riley suddenly stopped dancing and turned to Patrick. "Why'd you stop?" she asked him. He was staring over to his right.

"It's Rhu," he whispered in reply.

"Shit," Riley cursed under her breath before rushing over to Charlie. She pulled off her headmic. "Is she ok?"

"I don't know," Charlie replied. "I saw her stumbling during your song and she started tilting off to one side. Sorry if I messed you guys up."

"No, it's ok," Riley quickly reassured him.

"She's shaking," Sydney whispered, tears coming to his eyes. Patrick and Noah raced over to one of the microphones and grabbed it.

"Can I have everyone's attention please?" they asked in unison. The audience automatically stopped talking.

"So, I'm pretty sure what you've just witnessed is pretty scary and you're wondering what's wrong," Patrick said. A few people shouted their agreements.

"Everything's alright, Rhuben has been overworking herself for the past couple of days, wanting this concert to be perfect for you guys," Noah replied. "She'll be fine, she just needs some rest."

"We'll be giving you guys updates on how she's doing from time to time," Patrick went on.

"So, give your hearts out to her, and hope she has a speedy recovery," Noah added. "We love you all."

"In the meantime, welcome to the stage, McFly," Patrick concluded. With that, the two of them rushed off the stage, helping Charlie carry Rhuben off stage.

Tom, Danny, Dougie, and Harry gave concerned looks before heading on stage.

"Matt, go find some ice, she's burning up," Julius said after touching Rhuben's forehead.

"Right," Matt said with a nod before rushing off.

"James, go look for a power bar or something she can eat when she wakes up," Jake suggested.

"I'll come too," Riley said gently pushing by him.

"We'll take Patrick, Noah, and Sydney with us for a little while," Gen suggested, taking Sydney's hand. Jacqui placed her hands on Patrick and Noah's shoulders and guided them away.

"Will she be ok?" Charlie asked quietly.

"She'll be fine, she just needs to rest," Julius replied sitting down in a chair. He clapped Charlie on the back. "Thanks for looking out for her."

"No problem," Charlie replied with a slight nod.

"She's going to have to stay off her feet for a while," Jake said. "We're going to have to keep an eye on her."

"She's going to hate that," Julius said shaking his head.

"It's the only way we'll know that she'll be fine," Jake replied. "We're going to have to cancel part of your tour."

"My siblings will understand," Julius said with a nod.


	24. Chapter 24: Author's Note

**Author's Note**

**Sorry guys, but i lost inspiration for this story, so I'm just going to end it at 23 chapters. Besides, I think the ending is good seeing as everyone's problems were resolved. I'm sorry if you're not satisfied about the ending. But, I am going to put up another Just My Luck story soon. Thanks for all the reviewers who stuck with this story and I hope you enjoy my next one.**

**-Rhuben**


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